Guyana Chronicle E-paper 7 13 2018

FRIDAY 13th July, 2018

No.105334

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President David Granger greets Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Honourable Aloysio Nunes Ferreira Filho in the presence of Governor of the State of Roraima, Romero Jucá, and Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge during a meeting at State House on Thursday (MotP photo)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

Infant deaths lowest in four years … down from 295 in 2014

By Alva Soloman WHILE the nation’s infant mortality rate has been declining over the years, the Ministry of Public Health is continuously working to slash the figure to zero.

This is according to Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence who was at the time responding to a question posed by Opposition Member of Parliament, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, in the National Assembly Thursday afternoon.

Dr. Persaud queried the measures being put in place to reduce deaths at the Neo-Natal Intensive

Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence as she answered questions posed by the Opposition in the National Assembly on Thursday Care Unit (NICU) of the were recorded) that year. death is reported and a Georgetown Public Hosreport is prepared and reSTEADY DECLINE pital Corporation (GPHC). viewed by the Child MorThe release noted that tality Committee of the She also enquired how many deaths have been in 2015, there were 232 ministry which comprises recorded at the unit for deaths; in 2016, 104 and not only persons from the the period June 1, 2017 to 101 in 2017. The hospital public health sector but June 2018, and whether also noted that between those from the private secthe ministry or the GPHC January and June 2018, tor. She said if the report investigated the cause of there were far less than shows any discrepancies, the increase in the number 119 deaths, contrary to then investigations are unof deaths. Dr Persaud also Opposition claims. dertaken.

For the period January enquired about the meaShe said for the period sures being put in place to to April 2018, there were mentioned, no special in32 deaths. In June, she vestigations were launched correct the situation.

L a w r e n c e t o l d t h e noted there were only as there was no increase National Assembly that three deaths and accord- in the numbers during the while Guyana has signed ing to her, a committee period. onto the United Nations is in place to review all As a preventative meaSustainable Development deaths and when an inves- sure, Minister Lawrence Goals (SGD) and while tigation is warranted, it said the GPHC employs the government is working will be undertaken; how- practices routinely to pretowards complying with ever, this was not the case vent mortality, including the third goal, the onus is in recent months. Addi- the NICU being cleaned on the APNU+AFC ad- tionally, GPHC says it is thoroughly and sterilised. ministration to ensure that home to the only Level She said quality improvethe necessary services are 3 NICU in Guyana. This ment also plays a role in provided to the population means that it is the only ensuring that the unit is up at each level of the health public hospital that is ca- to standard. In 2017, the pable of providing a neo- reconstitution of the Child sector.

She said the issue has nate with invasive breath- Mobility and Mortality been examined over the ing support. “Therefore Committee was undertaken past three years and ac- GPHC receives the sick- to review all child deaths, cording to her, the govern- est and most high risk another measure which has ment has invested “a lot of neonates from both the been put in place to stymie money into this particular public and private medi- the occurrence. cal institutions, countrydepartment.”

The UN’s SDG 3 She said for the peri- wide. GPHC has capacity speaks to ensuring healthy od June 1, 2017 to June to simultaneously support lives and the promotion of 30, 2018, there was no 18 babies in our NICU. the well being of all at all increase in deaths and the However, because sick ages. The goals within the statistics indicate that there babies arrive every day, goal speaks to reducing the the admission numbers global maternal mortality were 1,155 admissions.

She said the mortality trend over this frequent- ratio to less than 70 per rate has been declining and ly,” the hospital said in 100,000 live births by the government is working to its release. According to year 2030. put measures in place to GPHC, it provides care Also, it speaks to end ensure that the number can to all babies and does not preventable deaths of turn away any sick baby, newborns and children be broken down to zero.

The GPHC, in a re- while reiterating that the under five years of age, lease Thursday evening, life of every baby and with all countries aimsaid during the period every patient in its care is ing to reduce neonatal 2010 to 2017, the total important. mortality to as low as 12 Meanwhile, Lawrence per 1000 live births and number of deaths at the NICU has been declining, said investigations into under five mortality to except for 2014 when neonatal deaths follow as low as 25 per 1000 live a high rate (295 deaths a process. She said each births by the year 2030.

A big burden

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

–– Berbice residents decry toll hike proposals –– Minister Patterson to engage BCCI next week

By Navindra Seoraj

RESIDENTS who live, work and even travel to Berbice are up in arms over the proposal by the Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI) to astronomically increase tolls to cross the structure.

Speaking to Guyana Chronicle on Thursday, the residents said the proposed increase is unaffordable and should it be implemented, the return of the ferry service will be a saviour.

Government has already indicated that it will not support the request by the BBCI for the high fares.

Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson told reporters on the corridors of Parliament on Thursday that he will seek Cabinet’s guidance and engage the BBCI on the proposed toll increase.

“I am going to the Cabinet to get some guidance on Tuesday and after Tuesday, I’ll obviously sit down to seek to engage the company to see exactly what it is,” said Patterson.

The minister said the administration is not inclined to ever increase the fares for the bridge as it will be too “burdensome” on the commuters.

“We will ensure that no further hardship from the bridge is passed on to the folks or the citizens of Berbice,” he said.

Berbice residents commended Government’s decision to block the increase, pointing out that the huge hike in the tolls would have hindered their ability to work, travel and even take their family to and from the airport.

They said in a situation like this, they would rather wait for about half hour on a ferry to reach their destination.

“That thing can’t happen, better we work back the boat,” said fisherman, Boyo (only name given) in an invited comment.

Boyo, who was at the time knitting fishing nets close to the pump station at Black Bush Polder, said he cannot afford a big increase in the tolls.

After calculating his daily expenses, he said

Boyo (first right) and his colleagues knitting their fishing nets while contemplating what would have happened if the bridge toll increase were granted (Samuel Maughn photo) the increase would not be feasible because in some cases the toll would be equivalent to his pay for two days.

The proposed increases

seek to move car toll from $2,200 to $8,040; pickups from $4,000 to $14,600; 4WD from $4,000 to $14,600; minibuses from $2,200 to $8,040; small

Residents say the traffic over the bridge is constant (Samuel Maughn photo)

trucks from $4,000 to $14,600; medium trucks from $7,600 to $27,720; large trucks from $13,600 to $46,900; articulated trucks from $32,000 to $116,680; freight from $460 to $1,680; and the toll for boats from $110,000 to $401,040.

Other fishermen who were around echoed Boyo’s sentiments, noting that the fees should be reduced, not increased.

“If they increase it by so much, is best they close it down because nobody gone use it; we would go back to the boat because it worked for us for so many years,” Boyo said.

Cash crop farmer and vendor, Vishramnauth Ragunauth, also agreed that the increase would be too much.

He believes that if granted, it would have punished rice and cash crop farmers, especially those persons who transport their goods to Georgetown.

“The middlemen who buy from us and sell back would drop the prices they pay us and we wouldn’t

be able to maintain we equipment and so,” said the elderly farmer.

He, too, agreed that the boat would be more feasible although it would be a backward shift.

Other Berbice residents said they would prefer using the boat service because minibus operators and taxi drivers would obviously increase their fares.

The BBCI had written Minister Patterson requesting that the tolls be increased as determined by the Toll Adjustment Formula which is prescribed in the Concession Agreement of June 12, 2006. Patterson in reply rejected the company’s proposal.

Opposition Leader Bharat Jagdeo had also objected to an increase in the tolls.

The company was contracted to own and operate the bridge for a period of 21 years after which a “fully operational” bridge will be transferred to the government and people of Guyana, at no cost.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

Linden-Lethem road closer … TORs almost ready, design contract to go to tender shortly

THE Terms of Reference for the construction of a highway from Linden-Lethem by the Guyanese and Brazilian governments will be ready next month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.

The information was contained in a statement issued following the brief visit by Brazilian Minister of External Relations, Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, in Georgetown on Thursday. Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge held talks with his Brazilian counterpart, who also paid a courtesy call on President David Granger. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The delegations also discussed planned activities to celebrate the occasion.

Meanwhile, during the meeting, Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Greenidge and Ferreira discussed areas of mutual interest, including the ongoing talks on the Linden to Lethem road link, the International Road Transport Agreement (IRTA), and trade and investment matters. In addressing bilateral cooperation, they examined the expansion of the Partial Scope Agreement (PSA), which allows the two States to export specific goods with reduced or no tariffs.

“We looked at challenges posed by phytosanitary regulations and how we can talk through them to ensure that acceptable standards apply to the agricultural commodities moving across the border and in particular to Brazil,” Minister Greenidge explained after the meeting.

Meanwhile, Minister of

Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, who also attended the meeting, noted that the terms of reference for the Linden to Lethem road project will be ready by August of this month. “One of the main purposes of the meeting is to ensure it remains a priority for both States. Therefore, by bringing such a large delegation, Brazil shows that they are as committed as we are

Partnership Fund (UKCIF) programme to complete the design. The contract for this consultancy will be awarded shortly.

Late December last year this newspaper reported that Guyana and Brazil will be working closely with China to access a US$50B China Select Fund to help construct the road. Speaking after the Guyana Government signed

are entering will be focused on fulfilling that obligation to building a road between Lethem and Linden. Brazil has done its part; Brazil has built a bridge under the Presidency of Luiz DaSilva and the road literally comes right out to the bridge. We need to do our part, so that is a very important agreement that was signed,” he said.

Greenidge, for his part

speaking about it for ages; the funding of the road clearly is a challenge to both countries.

Guyana is very small, so this is a big burden in terms of the financing costs. In order to conclude financing of such a project, you have to have all the technical aspects completed. The engineering design is one of the last aspects of the technical side to be completed,” the Minister disclosed

so as to get Brazil’s products, agriculture or otherwise, into the international markets by the route that turns out to be a lot cheaper than the route that they currently use, so it is a value to both sides,” he said.

Guyana and Brazil have enjoyed cordial relations since the establishment of formal diplomatic ties in 1968.

This country has received Brazil’s support on the on-

From left:Ambassador of Guyana to Brazil, H.E George Talbot, Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Audrey Jardine-Waddell, Senator of the State of Roraima, Romero Jucá, and Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Carl B. Greenidge, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Honourable Aloysio Nunes Ferreira Filho and Ambassador of Brazil to Guyana, H.E. Lineu Pupo de Paula to see this project through,” Minister Patterson said.

Phase one of the project covers approximately 125 kilometres of the road (Linden to Mabura Hill) and also includes a bridge across the Kurupukari River. Guyana secured funding from the British Government through its UK Caribbean Infrastructure

two agreements with Brazil, one of which deals with the road link, the Ministry of the Presidency said President David Granger noted that for decades both sides envisaged a route through Guyana, which will provide better development prospects for investors to come from the Caribbean into Brazil and from Brazil into the Caribbean. “This is something that has been long discussed and in fact, in some parts of the Rupununi, roads were actually aligned but we never had funding to complete it. The infrastructure agreement we

had explained that in July last year he and Minister of Public Infrastructure, Mr. David Patterson met with their respective counterparts to discuss moving the project forward.

At that forum, it was agreed that both countries will provide financial resources for the engineering and design of the road. “The engineer and design probably would cost somewhere in the region of $5M to $10M, between the two countries and with another partner, probably one of the multilaterals, we will close that financial package for that design…Guyana has been

back then.

He also informed that the two countries will be working closely with the People’s Republic of China to access the $50B China Select Fund to complete the road. Minister Greenidge explained that this road link is a critical piece of infrastructure that holds great potential in terms of integrating the two countries and improving trade. “The region of Roraima will not only provide Guyana with markets into Brazil and into Roraima, but in terms of volume, a larger volume of movement will be involved

going Guyana-Venezuela border controversy. In fact, the President described Brazil as “a guarantor of Guyana’s territorial integrity”.

“Brazil has borders with every country on the continent of South America except two and Brazil has stated over and over again that it has no interest in redrawing borders… Brazil has stated over and over again its principle that borders which have been established under international law should not be disturbed and that is all we ask for,” the Head-of-State has said.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE,Friday July 13, 2018

Trump brings reality show style to NATO

– leaves satisfied BRUSSELS (Reuters) He came. He raged. He claimed victory. He left.

President Donald Trump brought his chaotic style of governing to the NATO summit in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday, irritating and befuddling allies with charges and jibes before declaring success for convincing his counterparts to pay more for their mutual defence.

It was a classic performance for the one-time reality television star, whose “America first” mantra has translated into a sometimes-bullying style on the world stage, particularly with countries traditionally considered to be U.S. friends.

Even before the NATO summit was underway, he kicked off the summit with a broadside against Germany’s natural pipeline with Russia, and he stepped up his criticism of the alliance as a whole for not taking more of the financial burden off the United States.

He reinforced that tension through critical tweets, even as he held polite talks with Germanny’s Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the summit, and made nice with other world leaders at a reception on Wednesday night.

“He was in a good mood; he said Europe was a continent he appreciated,” Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said of Trump at the evening event, at which leaders enjoyed an acrobatic display and saxophone music in a Brussels park.

But the next morning, the bad-guy persona was back, prompting the first formal NATO crisis meeting since 2008 in which Trump aired

his grievances in a leaders-only, unscripted session over the funding issue again, diplomats said.

One diplomat said something appeared to have irritated Trump; a suggestion from another leader or possibly a report in the news media that he had not gotten his way.

When he took the floor in the amphitheatre-like North Atlantic Council room for a session with non-NATO members Georgia and Ukraine, Trump launched into a 10-minute tirade, which several diplomats said quickly developed into rage.

He made very clear attacks against Germany, and warned that if NATO countries did not meet a goal of raising their defence spending to two per cent of their national GDP by January 2019, the United States would go it alone.

That outburst prompted NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg to ask Ukraine and Georgia to leave the room, and, in a closed session, try to get the carefully-choreographed summit back on track.

‘NEW NORMAL’ Trump continued his now familiar verbal attacks, saying that too many U.S. presidents had failed to get Europeans to spend more on defence, and that he wanted immediate results.

But French President, Emmanuel Macron, with whom Trump is friendly, fought back and said the allies had to stick to the previously-agreed-upon 2024 target for their defence spending increases; that he could not change France’s budget for next year, which he had just presented to parliament.

Merkel said it was “completely impossible” to meet the commitments by January in the crisis session that Trump himself later publicly described as “tough for a while”.

“It wasn’t easy for Merkel and the Germans to be treated as a villain,” said a NATO diplomat, adding that the overall mood within the organisation was that this was “the new normal.”

By the end of that meeting, despite the pushback, Trump felt victorious.

During a hastily-convened news conference at NATO headquarters, the president declared that all was well, and he believed in NATO. He said he was proud that his intervention had prodded other nations to step up their spending.

And with his free-wheeling opinions on Britain’s exit from the European Union at that news conference, Trump even forced British Prime Minister, Theresa May into a public defense of her policies, and to come out to speak to reporters, diplomats said.

“We’ve had a very amazing two-day period in Brussels,” Trump told reporters.

“Everyone has agreed to substantially up their commitment; they’re going to up it at levels that they’ve never thought of before.”

In fact, allies had agreed to stick to the goals that had already been set before Trump became president, and which NATO officials say have much more to do with fear of Russia than of the U.S. President.

But Trump was satisfied; at least for the time being.

“And now we’re very happy, and have a very, very powerful, very, very strong NATO; much stronger than it was two days ago,” he said.

J’ca in free Wi-Fi pilot

– on ‘transit’ buses GROWTH Tech Limited is reporting that it is now conducting a four-week pilot of free Wi-Fi on Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) buses in the corporate area.

Growth Tech says gateway devices were installed over the last two weeks at JUTC’s Ashenheim Road Depot in Kingston.

It says that during the testing period, up to 80 devices per bus will be allowed to access the Internet.

Growth Tech Limited’s Chief Executive Officer, Neil Lawrence says he is confident the devices will perform well during the pilot.

“The devices are rugged enough to withstand constant movement; we have worked

hard to ensure that,” Lawrence said, adding: “We manage our devices remotely, and there will be constant monitoring to block explicit content. The devices also feature back-up battery to sustain the unit in the event normal power supply is lost or unavailable. “We expect a smooth running and successful pilot period.”

A full rollout of the service is expected by the end of 2018.

US, Cuba in talks on migration WASHINGTON, CMC – The US Department of State says there has been a significant reduction in irregular migration from Cuba since January 2017.

This was disclosed during Wednesday’s annual migraton talks held here.

The State Department also revealed that apprehensions of Cuban migrants at US ports of entry has seen a decrease of by 88 per cent from fiscal year 2017 to 2018.

“The United States again raised the need for increased Cuban cooperation in the return of Cubans with final orders of removal from the United States,” the State Department said, adding that Washington also reiterated that “until it is safe to fully staff our Embassy, we are able to adjudicate only official and emergency visas in Havana.

“A strong migration policy is vital to the United States’ national security,” the State Department continued, stating that the migration talks, which began in 1995, “provide a forum for the United States and Cuba to review and coordinate efforts to ensure safe, legal and orderly migration between Cuba and the United States.”

Coordinator for Cuban Affairs, Gabriel Escobar and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Ed Ramotowski led the US delegation.

The Cuban delegation was led by Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, the Foreign Ministry’s Director-General for US Affairs. The talks were last held in December 2017.

Wednesday’s migration talks came a day

after both parties held the fourth Law Enforcement Dialogue in Washington.

During the dialogue, the State Department said the United States and Cuba addressed “topics of bilateral interest on national security matters, including fugitives and the return of Cuban nationals with final orders of removal.”

The delegations also discussed the health attacks against diplomatic personnel at the US Embassy in Havana, including two recent cases.

“The US delegation reminded the Cubans of their responsibility to protect US diplomats from harm.”

During the dialogue, the delegations reviewed recent progress in the law enforcement relationship, such as “new bilateral cooperation that resulted in the conviction of a Cuban national who murdered an American citizen and who had fled prosecution in the United States, as well as areas where there is more work to be done, such as trafficking in persons.”

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, John Creamer; Department of Justice Deputy Assistant Attorney-General, Bruce Swartz; and Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Threat Prevention and Security Policy, Elizabeth Neumann led the US delegation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director of Bilateral Affairs for the United States, Yuri A. Gala Lopez, and Ministry of Interior Colonel Nestor Borrero Calvo led the Cuban delegation.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE,Friday July 13, 2018

Modernising the local government system ONE must not be surprised at the criticisms coming from a former senior chieftain of the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) against the coalition government for its recent amendments to the Local Government Act. These amendments, as outlined, are intended to further modernise the operations of the country’s grassroots system of democracy.

His statements are really reflections of the fears of his party that the local government landscape is rapidly changing to usher in the manner in which such a system should function--free from political interference, thereby returning the right to citizens at the grassroot levels, together with their respective local authority, the right to govern their own affairs.

This is what the coalition government of the A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) has ensured, through the historically held 2016

Local Government Elections.

This party grandee certainly knows what this means -- the end of political party hegemony, such as what the PPP/C had exercised over their constituencies.

It was unthinkable that for all the decades that his party (PPP/C) governed this country, that local government elections were not held.

Such a deliberate action, designed to continue the unenlightened policy of political party intrusion and control, only resulted in the abysmal decline of the rights of citizens at the community level, as well as the physical and environmental deterioration of communities.

This PPP/C elder is intelligent enough to understand that the continued control of such a system in a centralised manner has rendered the system untenable, as it has meant the stymieing of much-needed socio-economic development at the community level. In fact, for a country with such a vast geographic

spread, it meant the overburdening of the centre, and the shutting out of crucial development support ideas from the local communities that should, in the main, be the influence and driver for the latter’s advancement.

Political control, such as has been the traditional practice of the PPP/C, cannot bring the kind of modernisation that is essential for the socio-economic growth and development of the nation’s regions and their communities. To continue with such a decrepit, archaic system of governing communities constitutes a disservice to good governance, and a crime against the right of the people and their communities to decide their own comforts and welfare.

This can only result in the consequence of denying the concerned citizens the critical human right to choose, as well as ensuring their remaining in the backwaters of development. With the holding of

Local Government Elections has commenced the unfolding of the visionary concept of capital towns – a new vista in local governance that will accord communities greater autonomy in the administration of their daily affairs. This strike at the heart of the PPP/C’s outmoded and discredited strategy of control from the centre.

The innovative mechanism of capital towns has been designed to be the engine of regional socio-economic growth and development, whereby the maximization of the resource potential could be realised for the better welfare of the individual regions, their communities, and their citizens. Further, it is about introducing critical public services to local communities that could only have been accessed from the centralised public service system.

And already, the results are fast becoming manifest, with passport and birth certificate services now available in these regions. Even

the justice system is being made more accessible to the people with the creation of more magisterial districts.

Outmoded ways of governance, as reflected in the system of local government in the Guyana experience, have to be modified/change so as to make it more relevant to the needs of transforming regions and their communities. It cannot be envisaged, or even speak of improving the lives of our communities, in the decadent mind set of the ideological brand of political control as was, and still is, the mould of the PPP/C. Of course, that PPP/C member is entitled to his views; except that such reflect a mentality that is at odds with the modern development needs of a country and its communities, and are fast dissipating against the already sunshine of the latter.

Given Jagdeo’s known history, he would have been an easier candidate to beat Dear Editor, IN an effort to maintain political objectivity, I choose to write this letter sometime after the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on the issue of presidential term limits in the Guyana Constitution, to avoid becoming a victim to the obvious sensational atmosphere that the ruling engendered.

When the news broke that the CCJ had ruled that the decisions of former acting Guyana Chief Justice, Ian Chang and two members of Guyana’s Court of Appeal, former Acting Chancellor, Carl Singh and Justice B.S Roy, could not be upheld, the hope that former President

Bharrat Jagdeo harboured to contest for the presidency of Guyana for a third and more terms, was dashed to the ground.

The CCJ’s ruling gave real meaning to Guyana’s Constitutional provision which limits to two terms, the number of times anyone in Guyana can occupy the position of President of the country. The CCJ ruling also provided tremendous relief to a large number of the populace who had bought into the PPP and their allies propaganda, and had agonized over the thought of Jagdeo winning the 2020 General and Regional elections and in the process once again becoming a millstone around their

necks.

Peeping Tom and other supporters of Jagdeo are contending that his critics and the coalition are fearful of him winning the 2020 elections. This, to my mind, is a misplaced view of the reality.

The contention that Jagdeo is unbeatable is erroneous.

My judgment is that given his known history, he would have been an easier candidate for the APNU+AFC coalition to defeat. It is my strongly held view that his presence in the process will mobilize and galvanize coalition supporters to turn out and vote massively against him. The real challenge posed by Jagdeo’s candidacy is that in the process of defeating him, the political environment during

and in the post-election scenario is likely to become extremely toxic and potentially dangerous for national security in the context of Venezuela's claim on our territory. The instability that his candidacy would create can open up the country to serious risks, since it may tempt the Venezuelans into carrying out acts of aggression in their attempts at exploiting our internal dynamics to their advantage.

Ironically, the national mood of relief, which I referred to above, was graphically reflected in the comment given to the media by former President and PPP Executive member, Mr. Donald Ramotar, soon after the ruling was made public.

Mr. Ramotar was reported to have said, “I accept it…I do not think it (the ruling) was a bad thing. These words summed up how the majority of Guyanese felt.

Indeed, the ruling was seen as good for the country, and I will add, it was sweet music in the ears of the PPP old guard and the younger generation who are filled with presidential aspirations. Jagdeo’s ambition to be president for the third time and, maybe for life, is now dead and buried by the historic CCJ ruling.

However, even as he announced his acceptance of the CCJ’s ruling, Jagdeo engaged in political metamorphosis, when he said that he had grown tired of

presidential duties, and is now an aging man who needs time for himself. We are now being asked to believe that this power-drunk politician, during the entire period that the matter of the third term engaged the attention of the courts, had no interest in becoming president of the Republic, for the third time. However, the lengths to which he and his cronies went to achieve a favourable third term ruling from the courts, demonstrated something quite different from his utterances that he was bored by presidential duties.

The fact that they spent millions of dollars in legal fees, for lawyers to advocate on his behalf,

Turn to page 7 ►

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GUYANA CHRONICLE,Friday July 13, 2018

Bharrat Jagdeo is trying to weasel out of his crony Berbice Bridge deal Dear Editor I NOTE in the Thursday, July 12 edition of the PPPaligned Guyana Times newspaper, an article under the headline “BBCI wants Minister Patterson at negotiation table” appearing on page 3 and continued on page 9.

On page 9, the article reads in part, “(Opposition Leader Bharrat) Jagdeo reminded that there was a financial model in place under the past Government, but noted that he was unsure what had become of that under the coalition Government. He strongly believes that the financial model may have been interfered with and this was something that had to be explained.”

Mr. Jagdeo is being disingenuous, duplicitous and seeking to mislead Guyanese.

Mr. Jagdeo is either feigning ignorance for nefarious political purposes or he is fully aware that the coalition government has not touched a single word in the concession agreement that his PPP government signed.

It is worthwhile to remind too that Mr. Jagdeo’s self-confessed best friend (BF) Mr. Bobby Ramroop is a major shareholder in BCCI.

It cannot go unnoticed, therefore, that all of this manufactured brouhaha about outlandish toll increases and Mr. Jagdeo’s subsequent tongue-in-cheek suggestion that government should “buy out the other stakeholders” (Stabroek News, page 10, July 12, 2018) is designed to bail out his BF, Bobby Ramroop from what has turned out to be a horrible deal for Guyana.

The carefully crafted image of Mr. Jagdeo as some sort of economic wizard or czar is coming apart before our very eyes. Like the white elephants--Skeldon Sugar Factory, the Marriott Hotel, Amaila Falls--and numerous others, this is another deal which has unmasked the former president as an executive hustler; hustling to create and facilitate deals and arrangements to enrich friends and associates and the former PPP government.

Mr. Jagdeo is now engaged in bluster and rhetoric as he desperately tries to extricate himself from the mess that the Berbice Bridge Company has found itself in as a result of a flawed arrangement which was engineered

by Mr. Jagdeo himself.

Further, it is widely known that the planned PPP

move to increase tolls in 2014 and 2015 were only staved off because of the impending elections. And it is now clear that had the PPP been put back into office, the tolls would have been increased to the exorbitant level now being revealed through this obnoxious BBCI request. Had the PPP been in office, Berbicians would have been made to suffer under these oppressive toll 1000% increases which the PPP head honcho, Jagdeo, would have insisted been approved with the sole purpose being for the shareholders (his BF being among them) to profit wildly from windfall dividends. For all the PPP talk of caring about Berbicians, the evidence of their actions and plans betray them. They are being unmasked for the uncaring lot that the people of Guyana came to realise they were and booted them from office in 2015.

Berbicians are fortunate that the coalition government is on their side and has bluntly rejected the toll increases and, in fact, reduced the tolls previously.

Regards Earl Hamilton

From page 6 ►

Given Jagdeo’s known ... throughout the process right up to the CCJ, speaks of a desperate politician in pursuit of power at any cost.

Jagdeo is contemptuous of the nation’s collective intelligence and sees Guyanese as being infantile.

If the truth is told, even the politically naive among us knew that Cedric Richardson was fronting for Jagdeo when he brought the lawsuit.

All reports in the media had indicated that Richardson is not endowed with a lot of money and, therefore, was neither in a position nor would have had an interest in this political/constitutional matter to the extent of dispensing huge sums of money (which he did not possess) in order to get the questions surrounding the issue clarified. An impartial observer will conclude that Richardson was nothing but a pawn in this“game”and was well paid to lend his name to what eventually turned out to be a misadventure by Jagdeo

and his cronies.

The clandestine relationship that Jagdeo and his cronies had with Richardson in order to achieve a political goal and at the same time have deniability, was consistent with the tactic he had employed in his “so-called war against crime” beginning in (2002) and the Buxton crisis in which the recruiting of elements in the criminal underworld to carry out state-sponsored extrajudicial executions and other criminal acts and denying his and the state’s involvement was his mode of operations.

In the context of Guyanese politics, one would have expected an Indian supporter of the PPP to eagerly front the third term campaign for Jagdeo. Instead, they used an urban African as the political scapegoat. In doing this, they sought to convey (1) the impression that Jagdeo enjoyed support beyond his Indian base; and (2) attempted to humiliate the African

community by demonstrating that he has the power, in and out of governmental office, to find a“house slave”to do his bidding.

While legal experts are saying that the CCJ’s ruling in effect bars Jagdeo from running in the 2020 General and Regional elections, not only as his party’s Presidential candidate, but also the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate. I am not convinced that the PPP leader shares that view. Word is out that Bharrat Jagdeo has assembled a high-powered team of lawyers, presumably led by Anil Nandlall, who is researching this matter with the intention of filing a legal challenge at the appropriate time. He is signaling here that he intends to use every means at his disposal to regain the seat of President of Guyana which he so badly craves.

Regards Tacuma Ogunseye

Guyana’s outlook is extremely positive Dear Editor, LIKE many, I was intrigued when I heard that Rystad Energy would be giving a presentation on Guyana’s oil industry. I was already somewhat familiar with Rystad’s general conclusions, which have appeared in the media over the past months, but was struck by the depth and extent of the research Rystad’s Sonya Boodoo laid out Tuesday evening.

The data will provide plenty for citizens, government officials and private sector leaders to pore over in the coming days and weeks.

Overall, however, I believe the outlook is extremely positive for our country. The data presented also provided important perspective for the nature of our recent oil discoveries. For example, Rystad’s research shows that since 2015, Guyana has easily been one of the hottest

regions for oil discoveries in the world. With around 3 billion barrels discovered in the last three years, we far exceed discoveries in notable producers such as the US, Norway, China and Saudi Arabia. It’s no wonder that our small nation is quickly entering the international limelight.

I was also struck by the analysis of oil barrels per capita. The per capita breakdown indeed shows the sheer magnitude of our reserves and the impact, relative to our small population.

In this sense, Guyana is projected to be the global leader by a comfortable margin. By Rystad’s calculation, there will be 3,900 barrels for each Guyanese – that’s a full 1,000 more barrels per capita than the United Arab Emirates. It’s also far above the ratios for some of our neighbors, such as Brazil and Trinidad, with only 200 barrels per citizen.

What does this mean for

Guyana? The scope of our discoveries means that we will be the subject of international focus and attention. There is no doubt that we need to see a lot of investment in infrastructure, education and healthcare.

Hopefully, the international scrutiny will create a higher sense of urgency when it comes to how profits are governed. But the scope of our reserves relative to our population size also represents a huge opportunity. Compared to other oil-producing nations, our infrastructure, education and healthcare systems need to support a much smaller group of citizens.

This will reduce scope and, by extension, costs. If revenues can be responsibly allocated, there is plenty of reason for optimism.

Regards Clement Smith

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

Guard customers against –– Regional expert tells private sector cybercrimes

By Lisa Hamilton THE role of the private sector in protecting their customers against cybercrime vulnerabilities was the centre of discussion at the Cyber Security Workshop on Thursday.

At the workshop hosted at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) as a part of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) Information Communications Technology (ICT) Roadshow, it was noted that cybercrimes

McIntyre said the private sector, which is often one of the main victims of cybercrimes, has a major role to play as a part of its Cooperate Social Responsibility (CSR) to monitor the daily uses of its products and services.

“If customers use a particular product or service from a particular company or firm and there is a report that comes into the firm that there is a breach or that someone used their product to commit a cybercrime then, therefore, it is the company’s responsi-

The CARCIP coordinator added that this requirement applies to social media platforms such as Facebook where many companies are now promoting their businesses. “[They must] ensure that information, whether social media or information that is published, if it’s defamatory or if it is discriminating against anybody, that that information is removed.

Those companies have a Cooperate Social Responsibility… you have to ensure that you moderate your

Youths and representatives from the public and private sectors and civil society at the presentations on Cyber Security at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) on Thursday pose several social and economic challenges in the Caribbean.

Speaking to Guyana Chronicle, CTU Caribbean Regional Communications Infrastructure Programme (CARCIP) Coordinator Junior McIntyre, spoke of the work of several parties in the reduction of cybercrime activities in the region.

bility to now share that information to the public. Because they may have to recall a device or update a device or produce patches and fixes to deal with the issue. Or even simply telling people that ‘this is the way you use our product’ or that ‘it is not meant to be used this way’ and putting mechanisms in place,” McIntyre said.

content to ensure that your customers are not disenfranchised or affected negatively,” he cautioned.

INFORMATION SHARING However, the private sector is not the only party which McIntyre pulled into the spotlight as he said students and parents can

become part of the “change culture” by sharing the information they have on cybercrime.

He stated that they can also encourage persons to be responsible users of social media and mobile devices, noting that cybercrimes such online pornography and cyber bulling are very common issues in the region.

“There are pedophiles, people who would lure children into all kinds of situations and because the Internet is pervasive and people access the Internet from any part of the world, children can be exposed to threats coming from any part of the world. So it’s important that parents play a critical role,” he advised.

On the topic of cyberbullying, McIntyre said CARCIP’s strategy is one of promoting education in schools through government-managed networks and awareness campaigns.

He said too that the Caribbean ICT Road show, which also targets youths, gives additional support and sensitisation help to fight against this common form of harassment.

Should efforts towards the reduction of cybercrime be ignored, McIntyre said it will not only affect investment to a particular country or business, but it can negatively impact e-government, e-agriculture, and innovation as well as create ill perceptions about technology.

PROPER SYSTEM As such, he advised: “It

CTU Coordinator Junior McIntyre is important for governments… work with regional agencies to put structures in place, governance and systems in place and oversight to ensure that our environment is safe.”

Although he did not place an overall rating on the Caribbean’s preparedness for a major cyber-attack, McIntyre said the region has made strides towards becoming fully prepared and will continue to do so.

“We have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of catching up to do but the positive is that we have started and there is [support] from the top [ministerial level] and that is important. What we need to continue to do is to build capacity and we need to continue to keep the momentum going. We can’t find ourselves falling

back anymore we,” he said.

He then urged that CARICOM states continue to follow through with all the elements of the CARICOM Cyber Security and Cybercrime Action Plan (CCSCAP) which he said requires vigilance and multi-stakeholder involvement.

CCSCAP is aimed at addressing the cyber security vulnerabilities in each participating Caribbean country and to establish a practical standard of practices, systems and expertise for cyber security.

It was developed following significant growth in cybercrime in the Caribbean such as the hacking of Government websites, child online exploitation and the use of crypto currencies to fund criminal activities.

Closing arguments in Herstelling motor death COME July 16, the Defence Attorney and Police Prosecutor will make their closing arguments into the case of 64-year-old Ingrid James, who was struck down and killed by a motor car while crossing the Herstelling Public Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD) last year.

On trial before Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman is 50-year-

old businessman Cleveland Softleigh of Burnham Boulevard, Mocha, EBD. Softleigh is represented by attorney Sanjeev Datadin and attorney Siand Dhurjon.

Recently, prosecutor Shawn Gonsalves closed his case and Softleigh lead his defence in court. The matter is adjourned until July 16.

The charge against Softleigh alleged that on July 29,

2017 at the Eastern carriageway of the Herstelling Public Road he drove motor car PKK 3251 in a dangerous manner to the public which caused the death of an elderly woman. He is currently out on $1M bail.

According to reports, on the day in question at about 20:20pm James was attempting to cross the eastern carriageway of the Herstelling Public Road when she

was struck by the motor vehicle.

It is alleged that Softleigh’s motor car was going at a fast rate and collided with the elderly woman causing her to become airborne before landing onto the road.

She was taken to the East Bank Demerara Public Hospital in an unconscious state and pronounced dead on arrival.

Cleveland Softleigh

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

Steep decline in broadcast infractions

THE Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA), through its Monitoring and Compliance Department, recorded a record-breaking reduction in broadcast infractions, for the months of April and May. The GNBA in a release took the opportunity to acknowledge and congratulate broadcasters for their cooperation and adherence to the broadcasting Laws and Guidelines for broadcasters.

The body said its efforts have yielded a significant reduction in infractions for the month of April and a further reduction in May. It noted that 15 infractions were observed in April and a record breaking total of seven infractions

were observed in May, compared to an amount, in excess of 35 infractions, monthly.

“Importantly, this reduction is occasioned by the authority’s consistent efforts towards educating and advising broadcasters of the best practices in broadcasting, according to the laws that govern the broadcasting sector, and the legal ramifications of misconduct. More specifically, over the past four months, these efforts included the issuance of letters to broadcasters, monthly press releases and one-on-one meetings with broadcasters to discuss their general conduct on air,” the GNBA said.

The body also reiterated the need for broadcasters’

Members of the Monitoring and Compliance Department at work continued vigilance and compliance with the Guidelines for Broadcasters and the previous press releases issued, with respect to the avoidance of vulgarity

in broadcast content, the placement of advisories and disclaimers before and after programmes as required, the avoidance of serious breaches (red-lined infrac-

tions), among others.

All such releases are accessible on the Authority’s website (gnba.gov.gy).

The GNBA is hoping for a further reduction

in broadcasting infractions and ongoing cooperation and collaboration as it strives to achieve the highest standards of broadcasting in Guyana.

Single mother devastated after Clifton fire

The aftermath of the fire that gutted the Lot 58 Clifton Village, East Berbice, Corentyne home

A 53-year- old single mother of two of Lot 58 Clifton Village, East Berbice, Corentyne, is counting her losses after her home was destroyed by fire on Wednesday. The blaze also destroyed a nearby building.

Sunita Jagdeo told Guyana Chronicle that she was asleep when her daughter alerted her that the house was on fire. Jagdeo also shares the home with her 42-year-old brother and operates a small shop, selling soft-drinks and snacks.

The woman related that at approximately 11:20 hrs, she was awakened by loud sounds and upon investigation, found a section of the house engulfed in flames.

The mother and her two children immediately sought safety and raised an alarm as neighbours and relatives formed a bucket brigade as they awaited the arrival of the fire tender.

“Meh run out and shout for neighbour ‘all yuh come help meh, house ah bun

down’.

Some of them neighbour come out and start throw water and one called the fire brigade, but the house catch fast and we couldn’t save anything,” Jagdeo said.

She went on to say that as they began dousing the house which was completely engulfed, a second house located in the yard caught fire and at that point, the attention was turned to saving the other house.

Clothing and other household articles were saved from the second building. When this publication visited the scene, smoke was still emanating from the debris.

Jagdeo estimated her losses at over $5M and is contemplating her next move.

On Thursday, she purchased goods to restock her shop. Her small shop, which is situated at the front of the yard, was saved.

Jagdeo is seeking help from the public to get back on her feet. Anyone desirous of assisting the poor woman can contact her on cellphone number 644-1651.

Abdul Kadir laid to rest

HUNDREDS on Thursday bade farewell to convicted terror plotter, Abdul Kadir, at a funeral service held at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground.

Kadir, a former parliamentarian and Mayor of Linden, passed away in a US prison on the 28th June while he was serving a life sentence. It was a solemn atmosphere as the large gathering observed the Muslim rites(janaaza) in bidding farewell to Kadir, who, along with several others, were plotting to blow up the JFK Airport.

His son, Salim Kadir, asked the gathering to ask God to grant his father forgiveness. “I would just

like to ask family members, friends, relatives and the general public to ask God to forgive my dad and our brother and may his soul rest in peace.”

Imam Sahid, in his short remarks, said that Abdul Kadir is free at last and no one has to tell him anything anymore. He reminisced on the great contributions Kadir had made for the development of Linden and for touching the lives of many in a special way. “Thousands of people can testify on the sacrifices that he made to involve his community in different projects and that is the legacy of our brother; you never departed from our minds and our hearts.”

Muslim brothers and relatives at the janaaza (Muslim funeral prayer) for Abdul Kadir, held at the MSC ground in Linden Chairing the short programme was prominent Muslim leader, Jafar Muhammad, who said that true terrorists always admit what they would have done, but Kadir stood by

his innocence to his death.

He asked Lindeners to understand how the system is set.

Kadir died at 65 years old after being incarcerated for 11 years. He was con-

victed for allegedly plotting to blow up fuel tanks at the John F. Kennedy Airport back in 2007. Even while incarcerated, his family was always in contact with him, even four days before his

death. His daughter, Haajar Kadir, said that her family had no knowledge of any prolonged illness her father was suffering from.

On June 2, 2007, Kadir was arrested in Trinidad aboard a plane headed to Venezuela, en route to Iran. He was subsequently extradited to the United States where he was tried and sentenced.

Kadir served as Mayor of Linden from 1994 to 1996. He was also a staunch member of the PNCR. On Monday, there was a night of reflection held in Linden for him and many reflected on the way he served as a community member and a religious leader.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE,Friday July 13, 2018

Guyana, Brazil discuss strengthened relations – as Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister pays State visit

PRESIDENT David Granger on Thursday said the friendship and cooperation between Guyana and Brazil, which has been characterised by peace, respect for territorial integrity and mutual interests is set to be further strengthened in the coming months as the two South American nations work to build more solidly on 50 years of bilateral ties.

Speaking during an interview at the conclusion of a meeting with visiting Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aloysio Nunes Ferreira at State House, the President said that this year marks 50 years of friendship and strong bilateral ties between the Cooperative Republic of

fields of education, the fields of agriculture, infrastructure development, and you would be surprised at the amount of interaction that has taken place at the level of ordinary residents moving to and from the two countries. Many residents from the Rupununi would go across to Brazil for medical treatment so there are many areas of cooperation but what we are looking at now is the future. We are not looking at the past and we feel that the relations now between these two mature nations should be put on a sounder footing,” the Head of State said.

President Granger noted that the visit comes at a time not only when the two

to fulfil our dreams of infrastructural integration but there are several other areas of concern. One, of course, is the situation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. As you know thousands of refugees have gone south into Brazil, many more in Colombia, some have come into Guyana and into Trinidad and Tobago. Therefore, we need to have a common push to deal with this humanitarian crisis. The situation was also changing in the hemisphere and the world. As you know, the US Government, the UK Government, the EU have all been affected by some economic changes and it will eventually have an impact on Guyana and in that way,

The Guyana and Brazilian delegations during the meeting on Thursday (Ministry of the Presidency photo)

Guyana and the Federative Republic of Brazil.

He noted that while the two countries have enjoyed cooperation in a number of areas, they must now take the opportunity to build on the solid foundation, which exists.

“The cooperation has been very wide. As I pointed out, I was one of the first two (Army) Officers to be trained in Brazil 49 years ago, so we had defence cooperation since 1969. It has gone into

countries are celebrating this milestone but at a time when there is a changing strategic scenario in Northern South America and the world, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom and European Union.

In this regard, he noted that it is important that the two states renew their relationship as well as seek to build on new ground while formulating a coordinated approach where needed.

“We have not been able

it is necessary for two neighbouring states to coordinate their positions so that there is some convergence of views.

We have always had cordial relations with Brazil at a strategic level,” he said.

ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY From an environmental point of view, President Granger noted that given the fact that both Brazil and Guyana are part of the Amazonia river system, the matter of

environmental security and protection were discussed, particularly in the light of

tion divulged by the first suspect.

He also confirmed that both men are from the general Campbellville area, and that detectives were up to late Wednesday night working to see what other vital information they could glean.

The Guyana Chronicle on Thursday reported that the police had recovered one

of the phones belonging to the Liliahs, which is believed to have been stolen during the sacking of their home.

Word is that the intruders had already had a market for the phones even before the atrocity was committed, and this is what helped the police find the suspects.

Once the phone was traced, the person at the

Meanwhile, Minister Nunes Ferreira, in his remarks, noted that the rela-

President David Granger greets Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aloysio Nunes Ferreira at State House on Thursday (Ministry of the Presidency photo)

the flooding in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region Nine).

“Sometimes Guyanese wonder that the rain is not falling but the water is rising and some parts of Guyana particularly the Rupununi is being subjected to flood waters over the last weeks or so. It is apparent that flooding is not something that is generated in Guyana. So we need to look across the borders because the water doesn’t stop at the borders, animals do not stop at the borders, so Guyana and Brazil need to work together to ensure that there is environmental security and environmental protection of our flora and fauna. We are also looking at sustainable development, looking at ensuring that on both sides of the border, standards are applied,” the President said.

The Head of State also noted that the preservation of South America as a ‘zone of peace’ is essential to Guyana’s existence. Brazil, he

Second suspect arrested A SECOND suspect has been arrested as investigations continue into the murder and robbery of a father and son in their Craig Street, Campbellville home last weekend.

This was confirmed late yesterday by Divisional Commander Leslie James, who said the second arrest was as a result of informa-

said, has remained resolute in its commitment to peace on the continent and Guyana

is grateful for Brazil’s consistent and unwavering support, over the past 50 years, for the peaceful settlement of the territorial controversy with Venezuela.

“Brazil is the largest state on the continent of South America and from the start of the controversy, Brazil has made it clear that it had no interests in redrawing the borders with any state. Brazil has borders with almost every state on the continent except two, so once people start tinkering with borders it will be an enormous headache for Brazil. Brazil put its foot down from the start and I think that was an important factor in convincing our neighbours that there will be no land grabbing on this continent. So, we are very grateful to Brazil and the Brazilian Ministry of External Affairs has always been known for taking a principled position and it has never varied. They have been a guarantor of Guyana’s territorial integrity,” he said.

tionship between Guyana and Brazil is as a result of shared goals including peace, stability and prosperity. He noted that as the two countries celebrate 50 years of friendship it is the intention to have more meetings and high-level interactions to discuss issues such as health, infrastructure, security, defence and other matters with a view of increasing collaboration and cooperation.

He noted that of particular interest is the construction of the Linden-Lethem Highway, which will not only deepen relations but also provide a vehicle for enhanced trade between the two countries.

Following the meeting with the Head of State, the Brazilian Foreign Minister met with Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge and his team to discuss and iron out the technical details and agreements with regard to the areas of cooperation between the two nations.

– for father-son murder

other end was arrested, and, not wanting to take the fall alone, led the police to the other young man who was picked up on Wednesday.

Sixty-one-year-old Deonarine Liliah and his 29 year old son, Gopaul, were found dead and their bodies partly decomposed in their home on Tuesday.

The state the bodies were

in when the discovery was made has caused the police to believe that the men might have died sometime during the weekend.

A post-mortem done on Wednesday has since found that they died of multiple incised wounds caused by a sharp object.

On Tuesday after the discovery of the bodies, Com-

mander James had indicated that CCTV footage from the premises had shown a young man entering the yard by way of the western fence.

It was based on that footage that the police were able to make headway in their investigations, by first tracking the missing mobile phones of the deceased.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE,Friday July 13, 2018

Financial Institutions Act amended – Bank of Guyana granted authority over licensing of financial institutions

By Alva Solomon THE modernisation of the banking sector is closer to realisation following the passage of an amendment to the Financial Institutions Act which consequentially strengthens the authority of the Bank of Guyana.

The move was made possible via the passage of the Financial Institutions Amendment Bill, Bill #5/2018 which seeks to amend the Financial Institutions Act. The bill seeks to amend sections of the act including placing power in the hands of the Bank of Guyana to revoke licenses issued to financial institutions if they do not satisfy several requirements.

These include if the entity has not fulfilled or is unlikely to fulfill or no longer fulfills the minimum criteria for licensing under the act.

Under the amended legislation, the license of the financial institution can also be revoked if the entity provides false, misleading or inaccurate information in connection with an application for license, or if it fails to comply with any order or direction issued by the Bank of Guyana after having been given reasonable time to do so.

The amended act also makes way for the Bank of Guyana to be the authority responsible for resolution of licensed financial institutions.

According to the amendment, in order to resolve a licensed financial institution, the Bank of Guyana shall exercise control over the licensed financial institution, operate

and conduct the activities of that institution with all the powers of its shareholders and management bodies and manage and dispose of the assets and property of that institution.

The amendment sets out a number of other responsibilities which the Bank of Guyana can enforce on a financial institution which

and modernise the powers to the Bank of Guyana, “to restore confidence and move swiftly”, adding: “We cannot afford to wait until it happens to then put a system in place.”

Opposition Member of Parliament Irfaan Ali told the National Assembly that he favours modernisation of the financial architecture of the

Opposition Member of Parliament Irfaan Ali as he spoke on the finance legislation on Thursday evening (Adrian Narine photo)

has not complied with the Financial Act. RESTORE CONFIDENCE Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, who piloted the bill, told the National Assembly on Thursday evening that bills such as the Financial Amendment Bill #5/2018 are intended to strengthen

nation. He noted too that it is a process which started under the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) while that party was in power.

Ali went on to paint a picture of the performance of the country’s economy and during his presentation, he was continuously guided by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scot-

land to steer his presentation within the boundaries of the bill.

Minister Jordan noted that indeed the bill is “really a continuation of work which was started by the Opposition when they were in government”.

He said as far back as 1995, there was a Development Credit Agreement that was signed in January that year. “Since 1995, it talks about strengthening the banking sector. Strengthening of Bank of Guyana through regulations, directives to carry out supervisory activities, the trend continued through the 1990s,” Jordan noted

He said the Opposition has argued “where did these bills come from.”

But he noted that “these bills didn’t fall out of the sky, they have a history.”

NOTHING WAS DONE The minister said recommendations were made to improve the resolution and potential oversight of the Bank of Guyana, and according to him, 14 years passed and nothing was done.

“We come today having to do the work that should have been done 14 years ago,” he said.

Jordan said the the legislation was drafted by the office of the Attorney General who assured him that it is consistent with the laws and Constitution of Guyana. “I am taking the assurance that there is nothing in here that limits the judiciary,” he said.

In response to statements made by the Opposition that there were no consultations

Finance Minister Winston Jordan addressing the National Assembly on Thursday evening (Adrian Narine photo)

with the banking sector, Jordan said, “I do not know where this propaganda is coming from, there appears to be an orchestrated attempt, possibly originated in the Opposition to get certain private sector organisations to put pressure on the government.”

The finance minister told the National Assembly that the banking sector, in all relevant matters were represented at a meeting on June 27 last and the list included Hand- in- Hand Trust, the New Building Society, Bank of Nova Scotia, Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), Citizens Bank, Demerara Bank and Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited .

He made reference to other moves by the government to pass legislation in the Na-

tional Assembly to improve the financial architecture of Guyana, notably amendments to the Credit Reporting Act to strengthen and to give full effectiveness to the act which he noted was a “creature” of the former government.

As a result, he said increasingly, credit reporting and risk as measured by one’s credit is being used by a number of financial institutions in the country.

“The bill is good for Guyana and brings us in line with modern practices,” Jordan noted moments before the legislation was passed by the National Assembly.

Iceman's last meal was high-fat, high-calorie feast Goat's fat and wild venison, plus sides of ancient wheat and bracken.

It's not a menu likely to appear on Masterchef, but for some of our ancestors it was a nutritious feast.

Scientists have revealed that the last supper of Oetzi the Iceman was well-balanced but also alarmingly high in fat.

The man lived 5,300 years ago and met his death on a frozen glacier. His body was preserved in the ice for millennia until it was discovered

in 1991.

Scientists have been able to find out about many aspects of his life, including what he ate before he died.

They say he filled his stomach with fat from wild goat, meat from red deer, an ancient grain known as einkorn and toxic fern.

The fat content was 50%, which is much higher than the 10% in the average modern diet.

"If you consider the altitude where the Iceman was

hunting, you need this kind of energy supply," said Dr Frank Maixner of the Eurac Research Institute for Mummy Studies in Bolzano, Italy.

"And the best way to do this is by eating fat; this gives you the necessary energy to survive in this harsh environment."

The study, published in Current Biology, gives a rare glimpse into what was on the menu during the Copper Age. The Iceman's diet has been

analysed before, but not in such detail. The latest investigation is based on looking at his stomach contents.

Surprisingly, this organ was discovered only recently as it was not in the normal place, due to the way his body was mummified over time.

The scientists were able to deduce that the fat came not from diary products, but from the Alpine ibex, a species of wild goat that lives in the mountains of the European Alps.

"His diet was a well-balanced mix of carbohydrates, proteins and also fat," said Dr Maixner. "Quite astonishing also was the high fat content he ingested."

The meal would have sustained Oetzi on his snowy trek, but it may not have tasted too good.

"It's goat fat and it's hard to imagine how this tastes," said Dr Maixner. "It's definitely not as tasty as we would eat nowadays.

"Considering that there

was no salt also, the pure taste of this meat, this fat - of all these components - I think it's hardly edible."

Although the Iceman did not have to contend with processed food, there was a negative side to his diet.

He already had signs of blocked arteries at the time of his death.

He may have died in battle, as he had several wounds to his body and was carrying weapons, including a copper axe. (BBC)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

Jagdeo gives ERC tall order –– asks commission’s help in proving Afro-Guyanese lived better under PPP

THE People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is calling on the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) to do a factbased study on the period 1964 to the present, so as to vindicate their argument that Afro-Guyanese fared better during their successive regimes.

The call comes in the wake of a courtesy call Wednesday from members of the newly-appointed Commission on Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo.

With him to receive his guests were Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira and PPP Parliamentarian, Bishop Juan Edghill.

Calling for a full disclosure of the findings of the suggested study, the PPP said in a media release yesterday: “Much of the discussion saw time given to the concerns about the state and welfare of Afro-Guyanese, and the ERC was requested to do a fact-based study on the periods 1964-1992 (under the People’s National Congress administration), 1992-2015 (under the PPP/C administration), and 2015 to present (under the APNU+AFC Coalition government), and facilitate a public discussion on the findings.

“The Leader of the Opposition stated that if this study was done, it would find that

At Wednesday’s meeting between members of the ERC and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). Seated at the head of the table are, from left, Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira; Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo; and PPP Parliamentarian, Bishop Juan Edghill Afro-Guyanese did better under successive PPP/C governments.”

This is not the first time that the Opposition Leader has claimed that Afro-Guyanese enjoyed a better quality of life during the 23-year reign of the PPP, as back in 2016; he defined the period to the media as “tremendous progress under the PPP” and “even handed”.

Though the jury is till out

as to whether the ERC will take up the challenge, Jagdeo has assured Commissioners of the PPP’s full cooperation in the dispensation of their duties.

During the meeting, the PPP said in its release, the two sides also discussed such important issues as race relations, matters impacting ethnic insecurities in Guyana, fairness and transparency.

“The PPP/C does not sup-

port the introduction of a quota system,” the Party said.

“The PPP/C stands by the principle of meritocracy as key to employment in the State (public) and private sectors, as well as to opportunities for scholarships.”

Among other concerns that were raised during the meeting were equal treatment for the some 7,000 retrenched sugar workers and 2,000 Amerindian

No mistaken identity –– police witness confirms daughter positively identified accused as mother’s killer

By Michel Outridge POLICE witness Inspector Nolan Burnett testified Thursday that he was there on April 25, 2015 when, during an identification parade, star witness, Romona Sanasie pointed out the accused as the person who shot her mother.

Burnett’s testimony is in relation to the trial into the execution-style killing on January 12, 2015 of Patricia Sanasie, which is being heard in the Demerara High Court before Justice Brassington Reynolds and a 12-member jury.

The senior policeman told the court that back then, he was stationed at the Brickdam branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) when the report of the murder came in.

Burnett said that being a gazetted officer, it fell to him to conduct the ID Parade in which the accused, Richard Stanton, was placed in a line-up along with eight other men of similar features and build.

That parade, he said, was done at CID headquarters in Eve Leary, using the one-way mirror system, whereby the witness, on

this occasion the deceased’s daughter, Ramona, would be hidden from the view of the nine men lined up in the adjoining room.

Burnett said that on the day of the parade, he apprised the accused, Stanton, of what was about to happen, and that following the preparation of a C-19 form, he, the accused, and one Sergeant Rodwell Sarrabo each affixed their signatures on the document.

The nine men in the line-up, Burnett said, were each given a number, between one and nine. Meanwhile, Romona Sanasie was cautioned before the

viewing that the person who shot her mother may or may not be in the line-up, but that should she see him, she must identify him by the number he is holding.

Burnett recalled that Romona Sanasie took a long hard look at the men before her, and when she was done told him ‘something’ and then complained of feeling unwell and asked to be allowed to “take some fresh air”.

But on her return to the room, she again complained of feeling unwell and asked to be excused once more.

On regaining her composure, however, she asked

Community Service Officers (CSOs) whose services were terminated, which, according to the Opposition Leader, has cost the communities at reference over $700M. Jagdeo is also calling for fair and equal treatment to citizens; equal access to goods and services and “fair and transparent hiring practices based on merit” for the hiring of staffers in referthat the person holding the number, three, who happened to be Stanton, turn north, then south; and after she was satisfied, she told the police that he was the one who had gunned down her mother.

Burnett said that immediately she did, he told the accused, Stanton, that he was positively identified by a witness, and his response was: “I is not no murder man; I wasn’t there.”

TELL-TALE SCAR Asked under cross-examination by Defence Attorney, Mark Waldron, whether he knew that the accused had a scar under his right eye, Burnett replied in the affirmative.

He, however, denied having any prior knowledge about the accused, as he was not told “certain things” by the witness, Romona Sanasie, as to the description, or how the suspect who shot her mother was dressed on the night in question, and

ence to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

Although Justice (ret’d) Patterson had stated on June 5, 2018 that only 46 per cent of GECOM’s workforce comprised of Afro-Guyanese, the PPP is still contending that the management of the Commission is dominated by Afro-Guyanese.

Meanwhile, the Commission is also being encouraged by the Opposition Leader to examine the studies done by the previous ERC on the public service, contracts and procurement, and the allocation of house lots.

The PPP is requesting that the foregoing matters be addressed in an “expeditious manner”, utilising a factbased approach.

In February 2018, President David Granger swore in the 10-member Commission after a seven-year hiatus, and since its resuscitation, the ERC has been flooded with requests, such as the allegations of discrimination at Mae’s Schools which has since been resolved.

The ERC is intended, inter alia, to promote good relations, peace, harmony, understanding and tolerance among Guyanese; provide equal opportunity between persons of different ethnic groups and proscribe ethnic discrimination. as such he was unaware of some details.

Burnett told the court that when Romona Sanasie picked out Stanton on the parade, she said he had similar features to the man who shot her mother.

In presenting the State’s case, Prosecutor Tiffini Lyken told the court that at about 06:45hrs on January 12, 2015, tragedy struck Atlantic Gardens, East Coast Demerara, outside the home of the victim, Patricia Senasie.

As she exited her car to open her gate with her daughter inside the said vehicle, a car came up and she was shot five times by the accused, who walked to her then back to the car he came in which sped off.

The mortally injured woman was taken to GPHC where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

She related that the police conducted an investigation and the accused was charged for the offence.

13

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

GAPSO takes issue with crime chief’s comments

THE Guyana Association of Private Security Organisations (GAPSO) is calling on the Guyana Police Force to thoroughly investigate the incident surrounding the Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes and her driver at the Massy parking lot at Providence, East Bank Demerara last Sunday.

GAPSO made the call following comments by Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Williams who said members of private security firms must be better trained.

“There is clearly a difference in opinion between the GAPSO and Mr. Paul Williams in regard to this incident,” the private security body contended.

According to GAPSO, it is unfortunate that Williams

would state publicly that after the minister’s driver attempted to breach a secure area of a facility, without seeking permission and the minister throwing several signs on the ground, which constitutes to damage of property, the security personnel should apologise.

“Would the same be required if a police officer were stationed there? Firstly, The Guyana Association of Private Security Organisations is calling on the Commissioner of Police (Ag), David Ramnarine to explain to the public if the reckless comments made by Mr. Williams represents the position of the Guyana Police Force,” GAPSO stated.

Secondly, the security body noted that while the incident is beyond comprehension, questions must be

Crime Chief Assistant Commissioner Paul Williams asked.

“We need to ask: was the security’s conduct consistent with their SOPs? And was the ministerial Code of Conduct breached by the minister?

The Guyana Association of Private Security Organisations is calling on Minister of

Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, an elected official who has a responsibility as to act appropriately to explain to the public her actions on the CCTV Video that is in the public domain. Failure to do such, Ms. Simona Broomes must be held accountable for her actions,” the security body said.

It also urged all security officers not to allow agitators to seize to advance their often self-serving beliefs of what is erroneous.

“Do not allow them to bemoan the lack of trust in the private security industry.

Do not allow them to beat down the hard working men and women who are security officers,” the GAPSO said.

According to Crime Chief Assistant Commissioner Paul Williams, the minister said she had identified herself,

but the security guards paid no heed.

“It is within your own judgment and sense that if you see a certain vehicle within a certain standard and class right there and then it speaks out to somebody, even if you want to rate the person as for whatever it is, whether the person is drug lord whether the person is a minister, whether the person is a businessman; whether the person is a gold miner or whatever it is, from the time you see a vehicle of certain standard it is supposed to arouse your attention and alertness, rather than from a normal vehicle, ” Williams said.

He added that security companies in Guyana employ people at the lower levels who work at stores, malls and premises and lack proper

training to deal with members of the public and carrying firearms.

The assistant commissioner of police questioned whether the actions of the security guard would have been the same had it been a diplomat in the vehicle on the night in question.

“It could have been somebody else of higher standing or stature in this country in that vehicle. If was a U.S. diplomat or a diplomat from any other country who would have gone there in that vehicle, yes, you may not know who is in the vehicle, but the person looked at the sign and move it…”

On that score he called on private security personnel to be more reasonable and for their members to be better trained.

Two cops take stand in Sandy murder PI

THE preliminary inquiry (PI) against former Guyana Defence Force captain, Orwain Sandy, who is charged with the murder of his reputed wife, continued on Thursday with the testimony of two police witnesses.

The PI is being conducted by Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman with evidence being led

by Police Prosecutor Corporal Shawn Gonsalves.

Sandy is represented by attorney James Bond.

Detective Sargent Nigel Gravesande, a ballistic expert who is stationed at the Criminal Investigation Department of the Guyana Police Force took to the witness stand and was followed by Police Detective Leroy Carol, a crime scene examiner.

The matter is adjourned until July 16.

Sandy, who served as Special Assistant to the Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, is currently on remand for the murder of Reona

Man shot under mysterious circumstances

AN unidentified man is in critical condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital after he was shot twice on Breda Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown under mysterious circumstances in the wee hours of Thursday morning.

Reports indicate that a resident in the area heard two loud explosions that sounded like gunshots and upon checking he saw a large crowd gathered around an unknown man lying on the street in a crouching position holding his stomach.

The resident quickly ran to Hadfield Street, summoned a taxi and with the help of others, placed the injured man into the car, which took him to hospital.

The injured man was then taken for immediate surgery, where he remains in an unconscious state.

The incident was reported to the police as investigations continue.

Payne on March 31, 2018 at First Street, Alexander Village.

According to reports, Sandy, after committing the act, surrendered to police at the Ruimveldt Police Station on Saturday, March 31. A post-mortem report revealed that Payne died from 14 gunshot wounds to her body– 13 to her chest and one to the head.

The police have confirmed that Sandy used his service firearm during the shooting. Police

Former Guyana Defence Force captain, Orwain Sandy

sources also related that the soldier had on one occasion lodged his firearm at the police station during a domestic dispute.

One source said the soldier had suspected that Reona was being unfaithful and was conversing with someone from overseas. It was reported that Sandy had planned to drop Payne off at her place of work when she received a phone call allegedly from the same person from overseas.

When the soldier ques-

tioned her and asked her to desist from railroading their relationship, an argument ensued and in the vicinity of the masjid in First Street, Alexander Village, Reona grabbed the soldier’s firearm and threw it out of the car.

According to the source, Sandy stopped the vehicle to retrieve the weapon and Payne exited too, and after picking up the gun he fired in her direction, emptying the entire magazine.

not been recovered. Bobb had allegedly confessed that he had borrowed a gun to commit the crime.

Scipio, aka ‘Saga’ was shot once just after being attacked and robbed by a lone gunman outside a Kitty hotel.

He was reportedly leaving the hotel in the company of a female friend and was about to enter his car which was parked in front of the

building when he was accosted by the gunman.

According to the Police, investigations revealed that the suspect “discharged a round hitting Scipio in the abdomen, relieved him of his jewellery and escaped on foot in a northern direction.”

Scipio was rushed to a private city hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

‘Saga’ PI adjourned until today

THE Preliminary Inquiry against two ex-police officers, who are jointly charged for the murder of 64-year-old Godfrey Scipio called ‘Saga’, a popular D’urban Street, Georgetown businessman was adjourned until today (Friday, July 13, 2018).

Former Detective Corporal Derwin Eastman and former Constable Jameson Williams are before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore for the capital offence.

It is alleged that the duo on October 12, 2017 at Kitty, murdered Scipio during the course of a robbery.

Ranks from the Police Major Crime Unit were

able to arrest the then serving cops days after the alleged trigger man, Aubrey Bobb, was charged for Scipio’s murder.

Bobb is alleging that Eastman was the mastermind behind the businessman’s murder and also went as far as providing him with the gun to do the hit.

According to information received, Police managed to arrest Bobb a day after reviewing the CCTV footage attached to the Kitty hotel – where Scipio was shot and robbed.

Bobb was recently released from prison after serving time on a previous robbery charge.

The gold jewellery that was stolen from Scipio, during the robbery, has

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GUYANA CHRONICLE,Friday July 13, 2018

GWI to reactivate wells at Port Kaituma

THE Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has committed to making alternative sources of water available to the residents of Port Kaituma, following the discovery of mercury contamination in the Kaituma River, the main source of water supply for Region One (Barima-Waini).

Test results have revealed mercury levels higher than the concentration acceptable to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the Kaituma River, thus making it unsafe for use.

Part of GWI’s mandate is to ensure that water is safe, so tests are carried out regularly. Samples were taken from the Kaituma River and

sent to the Kaizen Environmental Services Laboratory in Trinidad, where it tested positive for mercury. Mercury is a heavy metal in liquid form used during gold-mining activities.

Since GWI discovered the presence of the substance in the Kaituma River back in May, it took a decision to cease pumping the water to residents, while it carries out tests at other sections of the source.

Managing-Director Dr. Richard Van-West Charles and a team of officials met with the chairperson and councillors of the Matarkai Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) in Port Kaituma last Saturday to discuss

– following recent discovery of mercury in Kaituma River

with them the company’s challenges and plans to address the issue, since residents are heavily dependent on surface water from the Kaituma River.

In a recent press release, GWI explained that there are two wells in the community which GWI intends to activate. One is situated at Turn Basin and another at Citrus Grove, both in Port Kaituma.

Executive Director of Project Implementation and Partnership Building, Mr. Ramchand Jailal has noted, however, that when operational, they will still be insufficient to serve all of the GWI officials near the Kaituma River where traces of mercury were discovered (DPI photo)

residents all at once, as the water level is low.

In order to address the situation, Jailal said, GWI wants to work with the NDC to identify a suitable site to commence drilling a new well immediately.

He explained that this is urgent and therefore the decision was taken to secure the services of a contractor who recently drilled a well in the neighbouring community of Oronoque.

Jailal said that 200ft from the current Turn Basin well

would be an ideal location to drill the new well, which is expected to be completed within two to three weeks and the water gravity-fed to homes from an existing storage tank.

He also cautioned residents to be mindful of consuming water from the river.

And in an effort to provide relief and an improved service to the community, Dr. Van-West Charles also committed to ensuring the Oronoque well is completed within two weeks; completing a new

well at Arakaka; installing a C2 Lifesaver filter tank at the Port Kaituma hospital; ensuring a sufficient water supply for the new school term; and exploring additional water sources at Four-Miles to supply the Pittsburgh and other areas.

Additionally, the managing-director has requested the region to assist in identifying areas without access to potable water, so that GWI can make the necessary interventions.

GMSA urges quick fix to interior roads

The Puruni Road has been in a poor state due to heavy rains

THE Guyana Manufacturing and Service Association (GMSA) has criticised the state of condition of the roads in the interior, noting that they are causing much suffering and losses to timber producers.

The GMSA, in a release, said small, medium, and large scale logging companies are experiencing one

of the worst periods with significant losses of revenue because of the rainy weather conditions and deplorable interior roads.

“Across the regions of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice, the hinterland road conditions have significantly worsened due to an extended rainy season. The failure to maintain the interior roads

prior to the rainy season, has led to further crisis and has placed a very bleak outlook for many industries including forestry, mining, tourism, and trade.

“At least 100,000 m3 of logs destined for delivery to markets cannot be transported. As a consequence many value-added

Turn to page 15 ►

15

GUYANA CHRONICLE,Friday July 13, 2018

Three awarded masters’ scholarship in Mexico

THREE Guyanese students have been awarded full scholarships to pursue Masters of Science Degrees in Geosciences and Natural Resources Management through collaboration between the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Embassy of Mexico.

The students, Paul Bassoo, Ramish Baichoo and Jainel Bowen will travel to Mexico later this month to begin the 18 month programme.

On Wednesday, the students, along with Mexico’s Ambassador to Guyana Ivan Roberto Sierra, paid a courtesy visit to Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman who presented them with their official acceptance letters to the Instituto Politecnico Nacional (IPN) where they will be pursuing their studies.

Ambassador Sierra, on

behalf of the Government of Mexico, expressed his delight at being able to support the students who have not only received full scholarships but will also receive insurance to cover their time in Mexico, airfare and other essentials that are needed for their 18-month stint.

Minister Trotman welcomed the continued working partnership between the two governments which in recent times has seen successes in the paddy trade and other investments. He reminded the recipients of their new role as ambassadors of Guyana and encouraged them to take full advantage of the opportunity to not only study but embrace the diverse culture that they will be exposed to.

The scholarship awards are part of ongoing collaborative efforts between the Mexican Government and Guyana.

Minister Raphael Trotman and Ambassador Ivan Roberto Sierra with the scholarship awardees

From page 14 ►

GMSA urges quick ...

manufacturers are complaining about the lack of raw material which is affecting exports. This unfortunate situation has resulted in significant social and economic impacts. Some companies have had to completely stop production,” the GMSA said.

Revenues of many timber companies are down by 50 per cent and more which has an adverse effect on employment.

The manufacturing body said skilled workers are being sent home or the workforce is being downsized due to the worsened condition of the roads.

There are many smallscale loggers who are unable to stop working because of their financial commitments and such operators are putting their lives in danger and causing damage to their limited equipment, the GMSA

decried.

“As much as 30 per cent of the cost of production in the forestry sector is transport oriented and the poor state of interior forest roads is one of the most prominent issues affecting the sector. The maintenance of the interior forest road network, in many instances, is left to large forest concessionaires, specifically holders of TSAs. This is a key factor that has been driv-

ing production cost for large operators. Holders of TSAs are currently spending on average US$14000 to construct 1 km or forest road and on average US$5000 on main-

tenance of such roads within their concessions without any support from Government,” the manufacturing body said.

The body is calling on Government to take urgent

action to repair and maintain interior roads and for there to be a comprehensive programme of ongoing maintenance to ensure quality and standard is maintained.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE,Friday July 13, 2018

Judge amends order in GRDB matter

– to reflect court’s intention HIGH Court Judge Navindra Singh on Tuesday amended his Order dated June 5, 2018 with respect to the Fixed Date Application requesting a stay on a fraud case brought by the state against former Deputy General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRBD), Madanlall Ramraj.

Notwithstanding the amendment of the order, no stay of proceedings has been granted by the judge. In the June 5, 2018 Order, Justice Singh said, “Unless the magistrate’s order to produce the forensic audit report of the GRDB prepared by Nigel Hinds is produced to the Applicant or his attorney-at-law

by June 8, 2018, the prosecution of case jackets number 6976, 6977, 6978, 6980 and 6981 shall be permanently stayed.”

However, on Tuesday, he amended the said Order due to the discovery of a mistake; he changed the last line of it by replacing case jackets 6976, 6977, 6978, 6979, 6980 and 6981 with

6970 of 2017.

As such, the Order of June 5 remains the same, but for the change in the case jacket number, and relates only to one matter: 6970 of 2017.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers represented by Deputy Solicitor-General Deborah Kumar has made it clear that no stay of proceedings has been granted, as it has complied with the order of the court. The said matter is continuing in the magistrate’s court; it was last heard on July 4.

Additionally, the matter was fixed for a decision on Tuesday morning. The Guyana Chronicle has been given to understand that the Attorney-General’s Chambers had filed a Notice of Application to set aside that Order.

As Kumar told the Guyana Chronicle, “Justice Navindra Singh said our application to set aside the whole court order didn’t agree with our application, and that was refused. But what he did, based on discovery of quotes of his own mo-

tion, the court would amend or change the Order of Court to reflect the original intention of the court, his intention. All that was changed was the last line of the Order of Court of June 5, 2018.”

She went on to explain that case jacket 6970 is the only case jacket in which Magistrate Leron Daly made her order on for the redacted copy of the forensic audit report.

“It is the same order of court,” Kumar said, “but it only relates to one matter.

We have complied with the same order of court, and the matter is still ongoing in the magistrate’s court,” she added.

RUBBISHED CLAIMS Last month, the Attorney General’s Chambers rubbished claims by Attorney Anil Nandlall for stating that Justice Singh ordered a stay on a fraud case brought by the state against Ramraj.

Solicitor-General Kim Kyte-Thomas had told the Guyana Chronicle then that based on information provid-

ed by State Counsel Collene Liverpool, the judge never granted a permanent stay of the matter.

The matter of Madanlall Ramraj Vs The Attorney-General of Guyana, High Court Action No. HC-DEMCIV-FDA-798 was last heard

by Justice Navindra Singh on June 5, 2018.

She had called on Nandlall to produce a court order showing that a permanent stay of the matter has been granted by Justice Singh.

Kyte-Thomas contended that Magistrate Daly ordered that only parts of the forensic audit report into the GRDB, done by Nigel Hinds and relevant to Ramraj’s case, be produced to his attorneys.

In this regard, the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), which had brought the charges against Ramraj, provided the redacted report which reportedly amounts to some 160 pages, with only areas pertinent to Ramraj’s case visible. The other areas to the report were blotted out.

“A report relevant to the particular accused was ordered; not the whole report.

We have complied with the order,” the Solicitor-General explained, and noted that providing the entire report

would be exposing the affairs of other persons named in the report to Ramraj’s attorneys.

“The entire report is not relevant to Ramraj. The magistrate ordered what is relevant to them; that is why it is in that manner and form, so that they can’t peep other people’s business,” she told the Guyana Chronicle.

The solicitor-general made it clear then that it is the state’s responsibility to protect the confidentiality of other citizens, hence the redacted report being submitted in accordance with the magistrate’s order.

‘BIZARRE’ Nandlall, however, in a response described the statement issued by the AG’s Chambers as “bizarre.” He recounted that on June 5, 2018, the said matter involving his client was heard by Justice Singh, who ordered that unless a copy of the Forensic Audit Report of the GRDB was produced to his client or himself by June 8, a number of charges instituted against Ramraj, which are also pending before Magistrate Leron Daly, would be permanently stayed.

Six former GRDB members were last year charged

jointly by SOCU for failing to make a proper entry in a register of a company.

Those charged are former Deputy General Manager, Ramraj; former General Manager, Jagnarine Singh; former board members Dharamkumar Seeraj, Badrie Persaud, PPP Parliamentarian Nigel Dharamlall; and former Deputy Permanent Secretary (Finance) in the Ministry of Agriculture, Prema Roopnarine.

The charges read that the six accused, between 2011 to 2015, at Lot 166-177 Cowan Street, Kingston, Georgetown, while being members of the GRDB board with intent to defraud, omitted and concurred, entries into a Republic Bank Agriculture Sector Development Unit lifeskill account on the general ledger of the corporation.

The six denied that in 2011, they omitted to enter some $52M in the GRDB ledger; they also denied that they omitted to enter a sum of $77.3M into the said ledger. Other charges read that between the years 2014 and 2015, the sums of $130M, $9.7M and $145M were respectively omitted from the GRDB register.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE,Friday July 13, 2018

Illegal mining affecting potable water supply in Mahdia THE authorities responsible for surveillance against illegal mining in hinterland communities are being called upon to exercise stringent enforcement of the law.

This follows a new report of a breach in the main water supply to Mahdia in Region Eight due to unlawful mining in the area.

The water is supplied to the town of 8,000 by a single pipeline.

“The system operates where water comes through one transmission main

through… a creek which is about four to five miles away… this transmission main once it’s broken the entire Mahdia is affected so it’s necessary for us to maintain it and keep it functioning at the appropriate pressure as well,” Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) Executive Director Ramchand Jailall said.

At a brief media conference highlighting the extent of damage, GWI Managing Director, Dr. Richard Van-West Charles said this recent break took place in

the Water Dog area.

GWI is now calling for stricter monitoring and surveillance throughout the region by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and police.

This will ensure stricter enforcement of the laws against illegal mining in hinterland communities.

Further, GWI suggests collaborative efforts with the regional administration and by extension the community to identify and report illegal mining activities.

It was also indicated

One of the damaged pipelines (GWI photo)

that the sooner authorities clamp down on the illegal practice, GWI will be able to maximise potable water supply in the town.

“We are seeking to collaborate

with the regional administration, GGMC and the police. It’s really getting out of control and we now need the community to be involved in helping to stem this type of illegal activity so that the system can be sustainable and restored to serve the population,” Dr. Van-West Charles explained.

He also noted that breaches of this nature can cost $2Million to repair and most times have not been accounted for in GWI’s annual budget.

“We have done some modelling looking at further improvements in Mahdia but

this type of activity begs the question for the investment because if you invest even more and this illegal activity continues to disrupt the system then the investment comes to naught so we really need to arrest it.”

GWI has received more than 100 reports of leaks of this nature and believes it is time to address the issue with much urgency. Illegal mining can have several negative implications on water supply.

GWI is eyeing investment into surveillance resources which will aid in the reduction of damages to water supply infrastructure.

18

A voice to reckon with

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

s e v a e r G n i a Sham

Guyanese singer IF it isn’t her distinct voice, then the melodious sounds of 26-year-old Shamain Greaves on the violin will surely pique your interest. This talented Guyanese-born artist has a voice to be reckoned with and is actively working to ensure it is heard and that her home country is placed on the map as she rises to higher heights.

Shamain moved to the United States when she was just three years old and has been living in Maryland ever since. And while she doesn’t have many mem-

ories of living in Guyana, she explains that she loves her Guyanese culture and is always looking for ways to connect with it.

The young artist realised she had a flair for music at just five years old when she started playing the violin. She honed the craft all through high school and now uses it as part of her performances. Singing, however, came later on in life, and for the past six years, Shamain has used her dual talent to wow audiences across the US professionally.

Performing on stage

making waves abroad

homeland as she is aware that there are many beautiful aspects of her Guyanese heritage. She stated that as she moves on, she will continue to give back to Guyana in the best way she knows how- that is, through her talent. “Once I make it onto a bigger platform, I would love to do so much more for Guyana,” she said.

Persons interested in hearing more about Shamain and her music can follow her journey on all social media sites @shamainmusic or visit her website www.shamainmusic.com

Shamain on the violin

“Some of my best memories over the years of my singing career consist of the release of my first official album, ‘The Evolution of Me’, as well as my first official music video. I believe those two events were important milestones in my career that I was proud to reach and accomplish,” she said.

‘The Evolution of Me’ was released in 2015 and Shamain said that it represented a transition from one era of her life into a new one. “I had a little more life experiences with this album so I was able to make it more personal as well as interesting,” she said. “When I write songs, I’m usually motivated by something I’m feeling, or something I’ve gone through. I pull my

inspirations from my experiences and also the experiences of people around me.”

As her career continues to grow, Shamain said that she must constantly be aware of how she balances her career and her personal life. “[It] can be a little difficult at times.

My performances usually tend to fall on days where my loved ones are planning events and I usually end up missing a few. It’s hard sometimes but I know in the end it will be worth it,” she said. And it already seems like it is, as Shamain admits that one of the biggest gratifications her music career has brought her is the ability to support herself while doing what she is passionate about. “I love my job so much that I feel like I never

have to work a day in my life,” she said.

But while she feels like she’s not working, the work still never ends and so as she continues to aspire to the big league, Shamain said that she hopes to establish herself on a bigger platform while reaching a larger audience across all the genres she touches on, including reggae and R&B. “I want my music to be heard and appreciated by the masses and I hope it can make a positive difference and impact on everyone going through life,” she said.

Speaking on her connection with Guyana, she stated that she wants to know more about her

Shamain Greaves

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

Elegance, sass and high fashion at Linden proms PROM season is here and the high school students of Linden, who are attending prom, are showing up, no less elegant and adorned than a celebrity on a red carpet. The same level of exquisiteness that is seen on Hollywood red carpets was seen as the Fifth and Sixth formers stepped out to their prom venues with their fashionable looks that were worn by the male and female students alike.

The well-designed gowns that were also beautifully accessorised were the talk of the night as the girls made a statement that they have indeed passed the stage from “bobby socks to stockings”.

The guys’ suits and other choices A young lady with an African design of formal wear such as jack straps, waistcoats, bow ties and blazers made them high competition for the ladies, as they scored extra points for their well thought out classy look.

For Mackenzie High, the students were pleased with the way the night turned out after months of preparations. For the New Silver City Secondary School, the students were decked out in high fashion and had an equally enjoyable night, that will always be etched in their memories.

As with any prom, MHS Prom King and Queen Brittany Morris and Tyrell Fraser one of the highlights of (Photo by Micheal Bonds)

the night is the crowning of the prom king and queen. For Mackenzie High, Brittany Morris and Tyrell Fraser were crowned king and queen. Prom Queen Morris said that she felt honoured for the privilege and thanked her friends who made extra noise for her to be the chosen one. Morris was a business student and sat 11 subjects at CSEC. She said that she was not as popular as it may seem but that she participated in sports and poetry in her earlier high school years. As for her gown, she said she took the design from the internet and had it custom made. She plans on A beautiful gown worn by a MHS student donating it to a student who will be attending 2019’s prom, who may not be able to afford a gown. For the New Silver City Secondary Emanuel Atkins was crowned prom king and Destiny Henry was crowned prom queen. Atkins said that he believes his popularity, especially with the girls, would have contributed to him being prom king. He was a football player and was in the Arts stream. He wrote seven subjects at CSEC. Atkins pledges to assist the upcoming football team of the school as a Prom King and Queen Emanuel Atkins and Destiny Henry means of giving back.

(Photo by Elevate Photography)

Creole Rock heads to the UK LOCAL Rock Musician, Gavin Mendonca, will be embarking on a journey to the UK soon to attend a few festivals, including the ‘World of Music, Arts and Dance’ (WOMAD). He sees it as a grand opportunity to network, expand his unique ‘Creole Rock’ brand and learn as much as he can from the experience - which he can then bring home to Guyana.

New doors should be opened up for Gavin, and for his colleagues, as he hunts down opportunities for Guyanese music and culture to be heard and experienced, around the world.

Last year, Gavin would have travelled to Colombia to attend ‘CirculArt’ where he represented Guyana and the Rupununi Music and Arts Festival.

He has since also travelled to Suriname, Dominican Republic and Trinidad for performances.

In one last fundraising effort - Gavin will be hosting a concert this Sunday: ‘Creole Rock: Unplugged’ - live and acoustic at ‘The Duke’.

The Duke, which serves as a restaurant and Art Gallery, has created a platform for local entertainers and artists to hone their craft, build their fan base, earn an income and develop their careers.

Along with his live performance - Gavin will be screening his recent short film ‘How to build a Tree House’ which was produced by Der-

rick ‘Ziggy’ Denhart, filmed at Kaieteur Falls and includes the use of Patamona Folklore and Language.

The show starts at 19:30 hrs, admission $1,000 with limited seating available.

Gavin would like to thank his sponsors who have helped make his journey to the UK a reality: Sankar’s Auto Works, Readymix Concrete Ltd., RAMPS Logistics, Ministry of Public Telecommunications, Chetson’s Ltd., Zoon Inc., The Courtyard, Oasis Cafe and Ticketmaster Travel Agency.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

The marijuana question:

Neither legalise nor demonise THERE is a lobby of broke middle-aged men (like myself), who are not concerned with statistics and facts but see the salvation of sustenance through the mist of a marijuana-high Guyana. They are backed by the finances of large landowners who realise that it is cost effective to employ a disposable group for the realisation of their own monopoly should the improbable become possible. During 2013 and

the quality of the exchange, appeared to represent that form of responsibility. Other options were discussed that led to the mentioned that cannot be open to the public just yet.

The Rastafarians are in the crucial position of, following the advent of Bob Marley’s music, becoming the poster group of marijuana, its abuse and existence in this country, especially in the Afro Guyanese communities and have suffered

to its followers but with the decline of Buddhism and resurgence of Brahmanism it returned. Though the Laws of Manu forbid the Brahmin to use, trade, or possess soma-cannabis, one can only assume the part it played in maintaining the caste system. Like every plant, cannabis has positive uses if the technology to extract the psychotic component of THC can be mastered and then applied to relative illnesses.

to facilitate documentation.

We need to know what is the direct impact on crime by drug addicts.

It is known that drug yards send addicts to commit crimes, it’s not difficult to verify. For some reason, the loss of some faculties permits two realities from addicts, the capacity to lie to obtain money for drugs and the inability to construct in most cases, complex scenarios to shield the truth when caught in acts. A report of

many friends of mine who got high and stayed high whispering to other invisible friends, walked the road half and naked, most of that lot is gone now. Thus the threeyear prison sentence for a marijuana spliff was unfair, but decriminalising should graduate to a court procedure on education and a strict bond and with the younger salvageable ones a service term in the VYC. Whether we act or not it gets worse and more dif-

reflect, we would recall that every movie we saw in the 70s in packed cinemas, had stars puffing cigarettes. It was the ‘in’ thing. It was cool to have a charas stuck behind the ears. Then came the hard facts that cigarettes were killing people. We did wonder why so many film stars were dying from cancer. We thought that it was a ‘White people disease’ and Diabetes was a ‘Black people disease’. Lifestyles and food never crossed our

then in 2014 at a meeting with representatives of the Rastafarian group, we discussed an intelligent approach to the issue of Marijuana and its legal ramifications to their livelihood and cultural rights. With the presence of ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Pappy’, synthetic marijuana now on the market with dangerous-toxic effects, it was all agreed that a truce with this group and the state should be made to permit a controlled cultivation of this plant within a specific village area managed by a responsible Rastafarian group-and that group I had the meeting with by

most to prosecution. Marijuana came to the Caribbean through indentured labour from India. All records place its origins in China, where hemp was utilised for clothing and ship sails. It existed in China some 10,000 years ago. Some 2,000 years ago, Cannabis was declared

by Chinese physicians as a Phantasm which enfeebles the population, causing mental and nervous excitation, distorting the sense of time and space and was culturally discontinued. In India, it was encouraged among the low castes. With the rise of Buddhism some 600 years before Christ, Buddhism forbade intoxicants

A friend called me recently to discuss a family tragedy where two of his sons were committed for psychiatric treatment because of their use of ‘Pappy Marijuana’. They were sent to Berbice. I’m not sure what kind of treatment they could get or what kind of treatment is proven in those situations. We have got to start through a directive to record and have statistics on areas that are currently undocumented. During 2015 Elton McRae and I visited the Police to talk on RESCU. There we learned of things we thought they could do but that they couldn’t do, which would have made it easier

addiction motivated crimes from both crack cocaine and marijuana would help the public awareness on topics like how to deal with the marijuana issue. A few weeks ago I was on a programme with MP Carrington on the marijuana issue; I discovered we were not on opposing sides, contrary to popular perceptions. I have always maintained that there has never been one effort to reach young Guyana with info on the downside of ‘Heights’ that existed since marijuana became mainstream and I was a youth, then with no family of my own, except for a baby mother. Back then I had witnessed

ficult to redeem. The data available tells us that marijuana baked into pastries etc. (there is a vibrant pastry business in existence) is worse than smoking a joint that takes one to three hours to be effective, the cake takes three to 10 hours for effect. In the intermediate, the smoker uses the cigarette, placing his/her self in readiness for an abuse-overdose scenario.

We were a reflective society once, but the last two decades pre 2015, the administrative era I call ‘The Town that’s upside down’ has left us potential innate addicts of mediocrity. If we who reached adulthood

immature, untutored minds.

The list of stars that lung cancer killed is tremendous: Nat King Cole, Paul Newman, Donna Summer, Yul Brynner, Lou Rawls and on and on.

The question of Cannabis can be helped through the folks with the most experience; the Chinese and the Israelis. The former had experience for some three millennia. The latter has been exploring it since the 1960s at the Weizmann Institute and Raphael Mechoulam is the Professor on that topic. I would assume our authorities have already made this list.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

Rihanna responds to photos of her feuding with boyfriend Hassan Jameel with Lion Meme

It’s the weekend and we all want to have some fun after a long week of work! So here are some events that you can start off the weekend with rather than be cooped up at home. Get out and get your buzz on.

Today Join the Joseph High school for an afternoon and night of fun and games! From organised friendly competitions of ‘Saul Out’, Hop Scotch and ‘Dog and the Bone’ during the day to dominoes, card games, storytelling, and Karaoke at night. It will be an event to remember as we reminisce on the intense rivalry of Inter-House and other sporting events at SJH, and perform like your favourite artiste.

Tomorrow The Aracari Hotel and Resort brings to you the party called ‘Eye Candy The Bikini Edition’. This is going to be fun and exciting!

The Diamond Tarmac presents a dance and barbeque. Come out and enjoy a day of fun and in the night is the ‘big people’ night with lots of entertainment and music to keep you on your feet.

Slingers Family is doing it again with the dance called ‘Bawl Out’. This event you don’t want to miss. It’s going down at the California Ground. Admission $1,000.

Sunday It’s the grand opening of Leisure Inn Hotel. You don’t want to miss this because there will be lots to eat and drink. This will be taking place in New Amsterdam.

Gavin Mendonca presents Creole Rock Unplugged at The Duke at 19:30hrs. Enjoy live performances from Gavin and other artists. Admission $1,000. Funds go towards his upcoming trip to the UK to promote Guyanese music. Limited Seating Available.

Rihanna‘s roar may be worse than her bite. Days after the 30-year-old songstress was photographed i n a n a p p a re n t a r g u ment with her rumoured boyfriend, Saudi businessman Hassan Jameel, she seemed to lightheartedly respond to the tabloid story with a meme on her Instagram page.

“When u think u know more bout soccer #world-

cup2018,” Rihanna captioned the image of a male lion timidly backing away from the growling female feline, which somewhat resembled her passionately pointing fingers at Jameel while in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Of course, it’s unknown if the duo were really feuding over soccer or the star was just trying to break the tension before gossip ran wild. What is clear is that Rihanna is a su-

per fan of the tournament — she was even cheering from the stands when Germany bested Argentina 1-0 to win the 2014 World Cup. The “Wild Thoughts” hitmaker remained coy while talking about her current relationship in Vogue‘s June cover story.

“I used to feel guilty about taking personal time, but I also think I never met someone who was worth it before,”

she explained.

Back in June 2017, the Ocean’s 8 star and Jameel were spotted kissing and grabbing coffee together. Since then, the two have been photographed together a few times — including in October, when a source told PEOPLE they were “canoodling all night” while grabbing dinner and bowling with a group of friends in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

Brathwaite, Hetmyer give Windies opening day honours

KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) – Kraigg Brathwaite struck his eighth Test hundred and second in as many matches but it was 21-yearold stroke-maker Shimron Hetmyer who left tongues wagging with a shot-filled half-century, as West Indies took an early grip on the second and final Test against Bangladesh here yesterday.

Sent in on the opening day at Sabina Park, the Windies recovered from a dodgy start to reach 295 for four, with Brathwaite top-scoring with 110.

Hetmyer, however, lit up the afternoon in the Jamaican capital with an up tempo unbeaten 84 while Shai Hope

and Kieran Powell both chipped in with 29.

Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan proved Bangladesh’s best bowler with three for 90, including the wicket of Brathwaite in the final session.

Looking to seal the series following their crushing innings and 219-run victory in the opening Test in Antigua last week, West Indies made a disappointing start when they lost Devon Smith cheaply for two inside the first half-hour with just nine runs on the board.

The veteran left-hander was caught by Mominul Haque running back from short leg after miscuing a flick at a full-length one from Mehidy Hasan.

His dismissal brought together Brathwaite and Powell and they added 50 for the second wicket, to see West Indies safely through the first hour.

Powell, with a string of starts since returning to the Test arena last year but still without a hundred, again looked in good touch with four boundaries in a 49-ball knock before perishing about 35 minutes before lunch, struck in front to give 20-year-old off-spinner Mehidy Hasan his second wicket of the session.

On 79 for two at the break, West Indies flourished afterwards as Brathwaite and Hope put on 79 for the third wicket, leaving Bangladesh without success for the first hour following the resumption.

Hope, still searching for decent form, counted two fours in a 79-ball innings that

lasted just over two hours before becoming the only casualty of the session, caught by wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan running around to silly point, off left-arm spinner Taijul Islam.

On 33 at lunch, Brathwaite moved to 81 at the tea interval, before raising his century three overs before the final drinks break, when he guided off-spinner Mahmudullah backward of point for a single.

All told, the right-hander faced 279 balls in 321 minutes and struck nine fours, to follow up his 121 at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground exactly eight days ago.

West Indies had reached 164 for three at the final interval without any real fireworks but all that changed in the final session as the left-handed Hetmyer put his foot down to dominate a 109-run, fourth-wicket partnership with Brathwaite.

He has so far blasted nine fours and a six in 98-ball innings lasting nearly 2-1/2 hours.

On 13 at tea, Hetmyer played with typical flair and

aggression afterwards, in his first Test innings in seven months, after being ignored for the first two Tests against Sri Lanka recently, before falling ill for the third and final one.

He took two boundaries on either side of the wicket off Taijul in the first over after the resumption, before coming down to the same bowler in his next over and hammering him to the cover boundary.

He moved to 46 when he charged Taijul again and smashed him to the mid-wicket boundary and raised his second Test half-century in his sixth Test with a streaky boundary to third man off seamer Abu Jayed, in the first over after the final drinks break.

Brathwaite fell a couple of overs later, uncharacteristically holing out to mid-wicket attempting a big shot but Hetmyer carried on unfazed, playing with gay abandon until the close.

Nothing more epitomised his dominant approach than his clean, straight six off Mehidy Hasan, in the third over before stumps, as shadows lengthened.

SCOREBOARD

WEST INDIES 1st innings K. Brathwaite c Taijul Islam b Mehidy Hasan 110 D. Smith c Mominul Haque b Mehidy Hasan 2 K. Powell lbw b Mehidy Hasan 29 S. Hope c wkp. Nurul Hasan b Taijul Islam 29 S. Hetmyer not out 84 R. Chase not out 16 Extras: (b-18, lb-7) 25 Total: (4 wkts, 92 overs) 295 To bat: +S Dowrich, *J Holder, K Paul, M Cummins, S Gabriel.

Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-59, 3-138, 4-247.

Bowling: Abu Jayed 10-4-22-0, Shakib al Hasan 18-3-51-0, Mehidy Hasan 27-9-90-3, Taijul Islam 21-3-65-1, Mahmudullah 8-1-20-0.

GOA unveils largest CAC Games contingent SEVENTY-NINE athletes and 19 officials will represent Guyana at the July 19 to August 3 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Barranquilla, Colombia.

According to Juman-Yassin, president of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), this is the largest contingent of athletes ever to represent Guyana on the international stage, and he was more than pleased that (with the exception of swimming) all the athletes had to qualify for the CAC. Guyana will be represented in the disciplines of rugby, track and field, badminton, squash, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, boxing, cycling and hockey.

“I believe that this represents the best athletes in the various disciplines and it is expected that they will do Guyana proud,” Yassin said, as he also pointed out that the team is fully funded by the GOA. The coaches and managers present at yesterday’s press conference, which was held at the GOA’s headquarters at Liliendaal, all spoke profoundly of their chances at medalling in Colombia and are optimistic of

doing well in the South American country.

LIST OF ATHLETES: Badminton: Gokarn Ramdhani (coach), Priyanna Ramdhani, Narayan Ramdhani and Johnathan Mangra Boxing: Terrence Poole (coach/manager), Keevin Allicock and Collin Lewis Athletics: Johnny Sham (coach), Winston George, Troy Doris, Jenea McCammon, Leslain Baird and Emmanuel Archibald Cycling: Joseph Britton (coach) and Romello Crawford Taekwondo: Roland Thomas, Mark Choy, Adrian Spellen and Justin Choy Squash: David Fernandes (manager), Juanita Fernandes (official), Ramon Chan-A-Sue, Mary Fung A Fat, Ashley Khalil, Taylor Fernandes, Sunil Seth, Jason Khalil and Nyron Joseph.

Table Tennis: Matthew Khan (Coach), Godfrey Munroe (coach), Priscilla Greaves, Trenace Lowe, Christopher Franklin, Natalie Cummings, Shemar Britton, Nigel Bryan, Joel Alleyne and Chelsea Edghill.

Hockey (male): Robert Fernandes (coach), Anthony

Cole (manager) Jamarj Assanah, Aroydy Branford, Rayon Branford, Jerazeno Bell, Hilton Chester, Marvin Dannett, Jason DeSantos, Robert France, Randy Hope, Kareem McKenzie, Mark Sargeant, Meshach Sargeant, Medroy Scotland, Andrew Stewart, Steven Xavier and Dwayne Scott.

HOCKEY (female): LaToya Fordyce (Manager), Damon Woodroffe, Shebeki Baptiste, Vanessa Pires, Min Sodia, Culpepper Ashley, DeGroot Ulrica, Sutherland, Dominique DeGroot, Dacia Woodroffe, Nicole Eastman, Marisha Fernandes, Princess Wilkie, Samantha Fernandes, Alysa Xavier, Marzana Fiedtkou, Gabriella Xavier and Bushani Kaladeen.

Rugby: Peter Green (manager), Lawrence Adonis (coach) Ryan Gonsalves, Dwayne Schroder, Claudius Butts, Peabo Hamilton, Rondel McArthur, Godfrey Broomes, Osei McKenzie, Ronald Mayers, Patrick King, Richard Staglon, Avery Corbin and Jamal Angus.

GOA officials: Deion Nurse (chef-de-mission), Phillip Fernandes (deputy chef-de-mission) and Nalini McKoy (administrator).

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

Defiant Karunaratne carries Kuldeep and Rohit dismantle England in ODI opener bat for Sri Lanka with 158

GALLE, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Sri Lanka opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne struck a defiant unbeaten hundred on his return to the side to give the hosts a fighting first-innings total in the opening Test against South Africa yesterday.

man Keshav Maharaj were at the crease.

The hosts’ regular captain Dinesh Chandimal has pleaded guilty to a disciplinary breach during the side’s second Test against West Indies last month and has opted to sit out of the series against South Africa.

Test, returned figures of 3-91.

Former pace spearhead Dale Steyn, returning to the South African team from injury having last played a Test in January, picked up the wicket of Kusal Mendis for 24 to trigger a mini collapse.

Rabada removed former captain Angelo Mathews and Roshen Silva in the same over as the hosts lost three wickets for four runs to be left reeling at 119-5.

E x p e r i e n c e d Karunaratne, back to open the batting for the hosts after missing the West Indies tour due to injury, stitched together meaningful stands with Niroshan Dickwella, who made 18, and Lakshan Sandakan, the duo adding 63 for the last wicket.

The left-handed batsman hit 13 fours and one six during his 222-ball unbeaten knock.

SCOREBOARD

Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne (R) celebrates his century next to captain Suranga Lakmal. (REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte)

The 30-year-old carried his bat through the Sri Lankan innings to remain unbeaten on 158 as the hosts finished on 287, after stand-in captain Suranga Lakmal won the toss and chose to bat in the first of the two-Test series.

South Africa lost opener Aiden Markram to veteran leftarm spinner Rangana Herath to reach four for one at stumps.

Dean Elgar and nightwatch-

The International Cricket Council (ICC), the world governing body of the sport, is due to announce a verdict in the case soon.

On a turning surface at Galle, it was fast bowler Kagiso Rabada who did the maximum damage for the touring side with four wickets for 50. Left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, playing only his second

SRI LANKA 1st innings Danushka Gunathilaka c Quinton de Kock b Kagiso Rabada 26 Dimuth Karunaratne not out

158 Dhananjaya de Silva b Tabraiz Shamsi

11 Kusal Mendis c Kagiso Rabada b Dale Steyn 24 Angelo Mathews c Quinton de Kock b Kagiso Rabada 1 Roshen Silva c Aiden Markram b Kagiso Rabada 0 Niroshan Dickwella c Hashim Amla b Tabraiz Shamsi 18 Dilruwan Perera c Quinton de Kock b Vernon Philander 1 Rangana Herath run-out Vernon Philander 1 Suranga Lakmal c Quinton de Kock b Kagiso Rabada 10 Lakshan Sandakan stp. Quinton de Kock b Tabraiz Shamsi 25 Extras: (b-7, lb-1, nb-2, w-2)

12 Total: (all out, 78.4 overs)

287 Fall of wickets : 1-44, 2-70, 3-115, 4-119, 5-119, 6-161, 7-164, 8-176, 9-224.

Bowling: Vernon Philander 8-1-28-1, Dale Steyn 13-0-54-1, Kagiso Rabada 14-1-50-4 (w-2, nb-1), Keshav Maharaj 17-3-49-0 (nb-1), Tabraiz Shamsi 25.4-2-91-3, Dean Elgar 1-0-7-0.

SOUTH AFRICA 1st innings Dean Elgar not out

4 Aiden Markram c Angelo Mathews b Rangana Herath 0 Keshav Maharaj not out

0 Extras: 0 Total: (4.0 overs)

4-1 Fall of wickets: 1-1 Markram Bowling: Rangana Herath 2-1-1-1, Dilruwan Perera 2-1-3-0.

Mainstay youths to benefit from GASA Training YOUTHS of Mainstay/ Whyaka, Essequibo Coast, Region Two, are benefitting from a swimming workshop facilitated by the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) in collaboration with the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA).

The training session, which was launched on Saturday last at the Mainstay/ Whyaka Multi-purpose Centre, is the first of a series of programmes to be held in the hinterland areas.

Ivan Persaud, President of the GASA, explained that the aim of the programme is to teach the youths about various swimming strokes and other techniques, in order to prepare them for participation in competitive events. They will also be instructed on water safety.

Persaud, who is originally from Mainstay, said that over the past years much

focus has been placed on athletes in Georgetown and its environs. However, the organisation has recognised that there is a wealth of talent in the hinterland communities, hence, funds were

Village Council about the possibility of hosting international open water swimming competitions in Mainstay.

This, he said, will generate income not only for the organisation and the country, but

Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Sydney Allicock and President of the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association, Ivan Persaud at the launch of the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association outreach in Mainstay/Whyaka.

set aside for training programmes.

Persaud also announced that he will consult with the

more importantly for the community. Persaud said persons attending these swim meets will need accommodations

and other amenities.

Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Sydney Allicock, who officially declared the session open, urged the council to capitalise on the opportunities such an event will provide.

“The hinterland is now poised to take off and these are the kind of activities we need. As a government and as a ministry responsible for the indigenous development, we would really like to be part of this process.”

The organisation is also seeking support in terms of providing accommodations for the selected students to be trained in Georgetown.

Minister Allicock committed to assisting GASA and requested they provide his ministry with a copy of their programme.

Swimming and other sport gear were also presented to the youths.

NOTTINGHAM, England (Reuters) - India’s spin sensation Kuldeep Yadav tormented England with a six-wicket haul and Rohit Sharma then piled on the runs as the tourists won their opening one-day international with ease at Trent Bridge yesterday.

The victory by eight wickets, and with 9.5 overs remaining, came after the hosts were all out for 268 with a ball to spare on a sunny afternoon in Nottingham.

Sharma, who was dropped on 92, sealed his 18th century from 181 ODIs with a six before taking his tally to 137 not out.

Kuldeep Yadav

C a p t a i n Vi r a t K o h l i contributed 75 before being stumped by the quick-thinking Jos Buttler, ending a 167-run partnership and leaving India at 226-2, but the necessary 43 were found without difficulty.

Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep had earlier ripped through the hosts’ top order with three wickets in the space of 10 balls and completed his 10-over stint with figures of 6-25.

The performance was the best by a spin bowler against England in one-day cricket.

The 23-year-old left-arm spinner also conceded no boundaries on a slow, dry

pitch.

England, the world’s top ODI side who had started brightly after second-ranked India won the toss and opted to bowl, were 71-0 after the opening 10 overs, when Kuldeep was handed the ball.

Jason Roy (38) was first to fall, with Joe Root (3) and Jonny Bairstow (38) both following lbw as the spinner weaved his magic.

SHAKY ENGLAND England looked shaky at 105-4, after captain Eoin Morgan was caught by Suresh Raina off Yuzvendra Chahal, but Buttler (53) and Ben Stokes (50) restored some calm with half-centuries before Kuldeep struck again.

Stokes’s 50 was painfully slow, coming off 102 balls and with only two fours.

He was caught on his 103rd ball, a reverse sweep plucked out of the air by the diving Siddarth Kaul to take Kuldeep to 5-23.

Buttler, caught down the leg side by MS Dhoni after reaching his 50 from 45 balls, had been Kuldeep’s fourth.

The spinner, who also dismantled England during the recent Twenty20 series that India won 2-1, wrapped up by taking David Willey with his last ball, caught by Lokesh Rahul.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain felt sympathy for his compatriots.

“One thing that’s for certain is that England need to find a method to deal with him,” he told Sky Sports television of Kuldeep.

“If they carry on playing him like this, he’ll be playing in the Test series too because he’s all over Root and Bairstow in particular.”

The second of the threematch ODI series is at Lord’s tomorrow. The five-Test series starts on August 1.

SCOREBOARD

ENGLAND 1st innings Jason Roy c Umesh Yadav b Kuldeep Yadav 38 Jonny Bairstow lbw Kuldeep Yadav

38 Joe Root lbw Kuldeep Yadav

3 Eoin Morgan c Suresh Raina b Yuzvendra Chahal 19 Ben Stokes c Siddarth Kaul b Kuldeep Yadav 50 Jos Buttler c MS Dhoni b Kuldeep Yadav 53 Moeen Ali c Virat Kohli b Umesh Yadav 24 David Willey c Lokesh Rahul b Kuldeep Yadav 1 Adil Rashid c Hardik Pandya b Umesh Yadav 22 Liam Plunkett run out Suresh Raina

10 Extras: (lb-5, w-5)

10 Total: (all out, 49.5 overs)

268 Fall of wickets: 1-73, 2-81, 3-82, 4-105, 5-198, 6-214, 7-216, 8-245, 9-261 Bowling: Umesh Yadav 9.5–0-70-2, (w-2), Siddarth Kaul 100-62-0, Yuzvendra Chahal 10-0-51-1, Hardik Pandya 7-0-47-0 (w-2), Kuldeep Yadav 10-0-25-6.

INDIA 1st innings Rohit Sharma not out

137 Shikhar Dhawan c Adil Rashid b Moeen Ali

40 Virat Kohli stp. Jos Buttler b Adil Rashid 75 Lokesh Rahul not out

9 Extras: (w-8)

8 Total: (40.1 overs)

269-2 Fall of wickets: 1-59, 2-226.

Bowling: Mark Wood 6-0-55-0 (w-1), David Willey 5-0-25-0, Moeen Ali 8.1-0-60-1 (w-1), Liam Plunkett 6-0-31-0, Ben Stokes 4-0-27-0-5 (w-1), Adil Rashid 10-0-62-1, Joe Root 1-0-9-0 (w-1).

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

Indies investigates trample Bangladesh Williams to face Kerber in WestFIFA by an Innings and 219 Women’s Wimbledon final possible discriminatory

By Sonia Oxley BBC Sport at Wimbledon

SERENA Williams will face Germany’s Angelique Kerber for an eighth Wimbledon singles title after both won their semi-finals in straight sets.

The American former world number one overpowered Germany’s Julia Gorges 6-2, 6-4, while Kerber beat Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-3.

Tomorrow’s final will be a re-match of the 2016 showpiece, which Williams won.

Williams will be seeking a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title and her first since giving birth in September.

Williams was in control from the outset against 13th seed Gorges, who was making her Grand Slam semi-final debut.

It was the first time at these championships that the American had faced a player ranked in the top 50 and she stepped up with a powerful display that also showed better movement around the court than in previous rounds.

She broke in the sixth game of the first set when Gorges went wide and then took the set on the German’s serve when her opponent sent a forehand wide.

The second set followed a similar pattern, with the only brief wobble coming in the ninth game when Williams was broken. But she struck back immediately and looked to the sky when an attempted lob from Gorges flew out to give her the victory.

Serena Williams

Gorges, who had spent more than 10 hours on court before this match, the longest of any of the semi-finalists by around two and a half hours, was put out of her misery on Centre Court in just 70 minutes.

“It’s crazy. I don’t even know how to feel because I literally didn’t think I’d do this well in my fourth tournament back,” said Williams.

“I don’t have anything to lose and I feel I can play so free. That’s what I’m doing.

“This is not inevitable for me; I had a really tough de-

livery and multiple surgeries and almost didn’t make it to be honest. I couldn’t even walk to my mailbox, so it’s definitely not normal for me to be in a Wimbledon final.

“I’m enjoying every moment.”

Williams only returned

Angelique Kerber

to the Tour in March, having “almost died” giving birth to her daughter last September.

Despite her maternity break, she is now into a Grand Slam final for the 12th consecutive year.

Kerber is proud to be in another Grand Slam final.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Kerber reached her second Wimbledon final with a commanding performance against an error-prone Ostapenko.

The 11th seed saved a break point in game six before breaking the Latvian’s serve in

the next game.

The 30-year-old then gained an early break in the second set on her way to the victory.

“It is such a great feeling to be back in the final and to play on Centre Court is always a great experience,” said Kerber.

“I’m happy and proud to be in another Grand Slam final, I will just try to play like I did and just focus on my game.

“Jelena is always fighting until the last point, hits the ball really hard, and I was trying to stay focused. It was quite tough but I’m happy to be through.”

Ostapenko, who won the 2017 French Open title, was playing in her first Wimbledon semi-final.

Despite making 18 first-set winners compared to only six from Kerber, the 21-year-old also made 19 unforced errors, with Kerber only making two.

The former world number one then capitalised on more poor play from Ostapenko, breaking her serve at the first time of asking in the second set and again in the sixth game.

Ostapenko saved a match point in the seventh and gained one break back, but it was not enough against the 2016 Australian Open and US Open champion.

chants by England fans

England fans watch Croatia v England - Hyde Park, London, Britain - July 11, 2018 England fans look dejected during the match. (REUTERS/Simon Dawson)

MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) - Global soccer body FIFA says that it is investigating possible discriminatory chanting by England supporters during the World Cup semi-final against Croatia on Wednesday.

FIFA did not give any details of the chanting but said it had received a report from observers at the match at the Luzhniki Stadium which Croatia won 2-1 after extra time.

“We can confirm that a report has been filed through the anti-discrimination monitoring system in relation to chants of a possible discriminatory nature by English fans at yesterday’s match,” FIFA said in a statement on Thursday.

“Subsequently, disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the Football Association... As proceedings are ongoing, please understand we cannot comment further at this stage.”

FIFA has employed teams of specialist observers at all World Cup matches to detect possible racist and homophobic chanting and banners at matches.

Swimming - a hobby turned mantra for two youngsters India A fightback leaves Windies A facing second Test defeat

By Stephan Sookram

FOR many, an afternoon dip is just as the name suggests - an afternoon dip in the pool. However, for two youngsters, Joseph Matthews and Latisha Blair it is more than that.

The two breathe swimming, (as oxymoronic as it sounds), as even down to their land training relates to improving their performances in the water.

Latisha Blair

Chronicle Sport caught up with them during one of their training regimen and learnt the driving force behind their dedication to the sport.

“I’ve been swimming for about a year and a half now. At first, I didn’t think swimming as anything to be fun but when I started my first competition, I started to like it; swimming

was a second home to me,” said Matthews.

Matthews, who is 14 years old and attends the Georgetown Education Trust College (GETC) says that he seeks improvements at every opportunity, thanks to said training.

“My training is very hard. It never gets easy. But although it’s hard, it allows me to drop time (be faster) at every competition.

I’ve dropped two seconds at

Joseph Matthews

every competition in every event that I swim,” ke said.

“My main goal is to make it to the world championships.

The Olympics is a big thing, yes, but like in swimming, the world championship is where the best in the world go.

He was especially thankful for the help he receives from the coaches and his family and friends

who have given him the impetus to continue.

“I am encouraging people at school to swim and almost my whole class has followed me here.”

Blair on the other hand, who is a 14-year-old student of North Ruimveldt Multilateral, is willing to look past those long days of training.

“It (training) has been very hard. Some mornings, the work is so hard that I want to cry, sometimes I vomit but at the end of the day, I realise that it’s good for me and it will make me better.

“Break a fifty backstroke record and go to the Olympics,” she said when quizzed about what keeps her going in the sport and what she has planned for aquatic community.

“I’d like to encourage people to take up swimming because a lot of people don’t take up swimming.

They just see it as jumping in the water and splashing up and having fun. They don’t see it as something that will help you to go a far way in life.”

She noted the importance of her family and friends, who support her throughout her journey and are always being present when she needs them the most. (sookram@guyanachronicle.com)

WINDIES A squandered early momentum to find themselves in a tough position, with India A needing just another 107 runs to win with seven wickets remaining on the final day of the unofficial second Test at Taunton.

At stumps, Hanuma Vihari’s patient 65 for 123 balls anchored India A to another second innings fightback, which saw the team close the day at 214 for 3.

Earlier, Indian A found themselves on the back foot after devastating spells of pace bowling from Raymon Reifer and Oshane Thomas left the team all out at 192 in their first innings, well short of the Windies A total of 302.

In response, Windies A seemed in good shape at 125 for 2 on the back of 61 from opener John Campbell and 67 off 84 balls from Jermaine Blackwood.

The line-up struggled to come to grips with the bowling of Mohammed Siraj who took wickets at regular intervals to stop the regional team from inflicting heavy damage. The spinner ended with figures of 4 for 64. In response, India A lost opener Ravikumar Samarth (18) with 51 runs on the board.

However, a solid partnership of 136 from Vihari and Karun Nair put the team in firm control of the match.

They, however, assisted by poor play in the field by Windies who conceded 45 extras,

which included 25 byes and a mammoth 17 wide deliveries.

The Windies A ended on a high note as Nair was dismissed on the final delivery of the day by Jomel Warrican.

SCOREBOARD

WINDIES A st innings 302 INDIA A 1st innings 192 WINDIES 2nd innings 210 (o/n 96 for one) J. Campbell c wkp. Pant b Mohammed Siraj 61 D. Thomas c wkp. Pant b Gurbani 25 J. Blackwood b Gurbani 67 S. Brooks c wkp. Pant b Mohammed Siraj 2 S. Ambris c (sub.) b Nadeem 5 V. Singh c Samarth b Mohammed Siraj 16 R. Reifer c Easwaran b Gurbani 0 R. Shepherd c wkp. Pant b Mohammed Siraj 5 J. Warrican c (sub.) b Yadav 1 S. Lewis b Yadav 0 O. Thomas not out 6 Extras: (b-7, lb-12, w-1, nb-2) 22 Total: (all out, 57.3 overs) 210 Fall of wickets: 1-51, 2-125, 3-137, 4-160, 5-180, 6-180, 7-203, 8-204, 9-204.

Bowling: Mohammed Siraj 20-3-64-4, Gurbani 17-1-64-3, Yadav 7.3-2-23-2, Nadeem 13-2-40-1.

INDIA A 2nd innings (target: 321 runs) R. Samarth c wkp. Thomas b Reifer 18 A. Easwaran c wkp. Thomas b Shepherd 31 K. Nair c Campbell b Warrican 55 H. Vihari not out 65 Extras: (b-25, w-17, nb-3) 45 Total: (3 wkts, 46 overs) 214 Fall of wickets: 1-51, 2-78, 3-214.

Bowling: Lewis 9-1-35-0, Thomas 10-1-54-0, Reifer 12-1-29-1, Shepherd 5-1-25-1, Warrican 7-0-30-1, Campbell 3-0-16-0.

Position: India A require 107 runs with seven wickets intact.

30

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

Regal Masters look to extend winning streak on Sunday

15th Annual P&P Insurance Brokers cycling meet set for tomorrow

Cycling action returns to the National Park with the 15th Annual P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Ltd cycling meet set for tomorrow.

New York Independence Cup champions Regal Masters will be in action on Sunday at Everest.

NEWLY-crowned champions of the New York Softball Cricket League (NYSCL) Independence Cup, Regal Masters will bounce back into action locally this Sunday when the Ink Plus, Crown Mining Supplies and Elegance Jewellery and Pawn Shop grand softball tournament resumes with three matches.

Local teams and individual players had a working break of two weeks from action on home soil to take part in the annual tournament in the ‘Big

Apple’ where Regal Masters easily won the Eagle, the symbol of supremacy in the Over45 years old category.

On Sunday the champions will take on H.S. Masters on pitch number one at the Everest Cricket Club ground in the first of three matches scheduled for the day.

In the other games, Success Masters will battle Narine Masters on pitch number two while Fishermen Masters will look for a good catch when they come up against R.R. Masters on pitch number three.

Prior to their departure for New York, Regal Masters were on a four-match winning streak and will be looking to extend that when they take the field against familiar rivals H.S. Masters.

At the start of the tournament in May, Regal Masters suffered a heart-breaking defeat to HS Masters off the last ball in a cliff-hanger of a game at the Gandhi Youth Organisation (GYO) ground and will no doubt be looking to turn the tables while their opponents will be buzzing with confidence for

Stage set for GABBFF’s ‘Mr Guyana’ Championships ON Sunday evening, Parc Rayne at Rahaman’s Park, East Bank Demerara, will come alive, as the Guyana Amateur Body Building and Fitness Federation (GBBFF) hosts its National Seniors ‘Mr Guyana’ Championships where Guyana’s top musclemen and fitness enthusiasts will strain and strive to out-flex one another for top honours.

The championships will see the Ms Bikini Body being contested along with Ms Body Fitness, in addition to the Mr Guyana 2018.

Athletes have been undergoing intense training for what is anticipated to be a sizzling competition with the usual big

a repeat.

Eoin Abel, Mahendra Hardyal, Mohendra Arjune, Parsram Persaud, Eric Thomas, Fazleen Mohamed and Mahesh Chunilall are among the top class players who will be in action looking to continue their good run with both bat and ball when the action begins at 09:30hrs.

The tournament is organised by the Georgetown Softball Cricket League Inc. and is being contested in the Over-45 and Open categories on a round-robin basis.

THE 15th Annual P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Limited 11-Race cycling meet is set for tomorrow at the inner circuit of the National Park from 09:30hrs.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bish Pandey of P & P (Lamaha and Thomas Streets) and other representatives will be there to witness the races and present the prizes of the Hassan Mohammed-organised event.

At last year’s edition, Mario King of We Stand United outrode Alonzo Ambrose of Team Alanis in a thrilling twoman sprint finish to cart off the spoils of the feature 35-lap in a time of one hour 18 minutes 21 seconds.

In the other events the winners were Jonathan Ramsuchit (BMX Boys and Girls 12-14 years), Gerard Barrington (BMX Boys 6-9 years), Ryan Canterbury (Mountain Bike), Brighton John (Juveniles), Jaikarran Sukhai (Veteran U-50 years) and Andy Spencer (Veteran O-50 years).

Ming optimistic about second half of USF2000 season

By Srephan Sookram

OVERSEAS-based Guyanese, Calvin Ming, has promised better results for the remainder of the Cooper Tires USF2000 season in North America.

fixed. We qualified P3 at the last round in Road America but our engine issues acted up again.

“So, I’ve got a brand new engine in the car and I’m confident that the team and I can do good work to get back on

The stage is set for GABBFF’s National Senior Championships this Sunday.

names expected on stage.

Tickets are already on sale at $2 500 and can be purchased from Fitness Express, Space Gym, Buddy’s

Canadian Racing Tips Woodbine Race 1 Coca Inn Race 2 First Shot Race 3 Dontdropurcrop Race 4 Dexter Road Race 5 Chilling Secret Race 6 Stop The Parade Race 7 Cawaja Time Race 8 Miss G Note

Race 5 Hannah Catherine Race 6 Two Step Blues

American Racing Tips Gulfstream Park Race 1 Awesome Class Race 2 Sky Knight Race 3 Spirit Love Race 4 Papa Y

English Racing Tips Newmarket 08:50 hrs Saluti 09:25 hrs Main Edition 10:00 hrs Chief Ironside 10:35 hrs Alpha Centauri

South Africa Racing Tips Fairview 08:30 hrs Faraway Island 09:05 hrs Love Dove 09:40 hrs Dawnbreaker 10:15 hrs Fort Viva 10:50 hrs Fools Garden

Gym, Fitness Paradise Gym, Fitness 53 Gym and Body Alive.

Flexing is set to begin at 19:00hrs.

11:10 hrs Mount Tabora 11:45 hrs Hamada 12:20 hrs Ripporf York 09:05 hrs World Order 09:40 hrs Mukhayyam 10:15 hrs Pretty Baby 10:50 hrs Jahaafel 11:25 hrs Oona 12:00 hrs Orvar 12:30 hrs Byron’s Choice Ascot 09:15 hrs Dirty Rascal 09:50 hrs I Am A Dreamer 10:25 hrs Hawkerland

11:00 hrs Dowayla 11:35 hrs How Far 12:10 hrs Simply Breathless 12:40 hrs Apex King Irish Racing Tips Cork 12:45 hrs Uncle Henry 13:15 hrs Turbo 13:45 hrs I’m Serious 14:20 hrs Caliption 14:50 hrs Artic Fire 15:20 hrs Mill Quest 15:55 hrs Koroleva

Calvin Ming is confident of turning around his season in the Cooper Tires USF2000 series.

Ming, who has had a string of mid-pack finishes for the season thus far, indicated to Chronicle Sport via exclusive interview yesterday that things are looking up for the remainder of the season.

“The season has been decent but also kind of a struggle with issues with the car. However, we scored good results with the car; so far, so good.

“Since the beginning of the season, we’ve had some engine problems and we thought we had them sorted, but they kept trying to get it

the podium in the remainder of the season.

Ming, Guyana’s Senior Sportsman-of-the-Year, said that the support back home has also been heartwarming, especially from his fans and friends.

“I think that’s a great feeling. Obviously, it’s been amazing to have the support of all the people at home in Guyana.

I can’t thank them enough for their support.”

Ming recently returned to Mexico to collect his F4 championship trophy which he won in 2016-17 and is getting ready for rounds eight and nine this weekend in Canada. (ssookram@guyanachronicle.com)

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Friday July 13, 2018) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) WI won by an innings & 219 runs (2) Kemar Roach Today’s Quiz: (1) Inclusive of Keemo Paul, how many players have now

represented the WI in Tests to date?

(2) How many players have done so for Sri Lanka to date?

ANSWERS IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

31

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 13, 2018

Rutherford (134 not out) fires CWI B into Global T20 Canada final

By Frederick Halley TORONTO, Canada – Guyanese teenager Sherfane Rutherford fashioned a masterclass unbeaten 134 to lead Cricket West Indies B to an unlikely victory over pre-tournament favourites Vancouver Knights in the first qualifier of the inaugural Global T20 Canada which continued yesterday at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club ground, King City here.

The victory propelled CWI B into Sunday’s final at the same venue and a chance to play for the coveted US$500 000 winners’ prize and trophy.

Stuttering at 11 for three in the third over after being set a challenging 216 for victory, CWI romped home off the final delivery of the game, compliments to a thumping six over long-on from captain Anthony Bramble off left-arm spinner Saad bin Jafar.

Rutherford’s boundary-studded innings, which earned him the man-of-thematch award, included 10

sixes and 11 fours and almost singlehandedly swung the game CWI B’s way after the early inroads.

Opener Shamar Springer and his partner Justin Greaves who was returning from an injury, along with Brandon King, were sent packing in the first three overs with as fast bowlers Tim Southee and Sheldon Cottrell doing the damage.

Whatever hopes Vancouver Knights harboured of dismissing CWI B for a low score were however dashed by the brilliance of the left-handed Rutherford who found an ally in fellow left-handed Nicholas Pooran as the two set the ground alight with some scintillating strokes while staging a grand recovery.

By the time Pooran went, caught at long-on by Rassie Van Der Dussen for a fine 44 off 28 balls, CWI B were well on course for an improbable win. The pair added who came together in the third over added 130 for the fourth wicket with Pooran spanking four fours and two sixes.

There was no let-up from Rutherford who advanced to the first century of the tournament with successive sixes off Cottrell, celebrating the milestone in true Guyanese and West Indian style.

Bramble (23), who had failed to reach double figures in the tournament, played second fiddle to his Guyanese counterpart in an unbroken stand of 80 when victory was achieved much to the delight of other members of the squad who rushed unto the field to greet their heroes.

Southee was Vancouver Knights best bowler with two for 39 from his four Cottrell and Russell took one for 34 and 46 respectively.

Earlier, Chadwick Walton and a subdued Gayle had given Vancouver Knights a brilliant start of 73 in 5.3 overs before the former perished for a flamboyant 54, caught behind by Bramble off left-arm seamer Obed McKoy, a knock which contained five fours and four sixes off just 21 balls.

Seemingly intent on batting deep into the innings,

Guyana Men to play semi-final against Bermuda … Women second in their group

GUYANA Men’s team is on course to pick up another title at the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) junior tournament being held in Jamaica.

The men go face to face with Bermuda today in the semifinal while the second semi-final will feature Trinidad and Tobago and top-seeded Barbados.

In Group B, the Guyanese are unbeaten having played three matches for a maximum of three points with a record of 13-2 matches, 37-10 games and 471-292 points.

The second-placed team in Group B were Trinidad who played three, but lost one to Guyana, while hosts Jamaica finished third with one point (1 win and 2 losses) and the Eastern States finished without a win or a point.

In Group A, the Barbadians topped with 2 points, Bermuda finished second with 1 point and the Cayman Islands failed to score.

Meanwhile, the females are second in their group behind Barbados and ahead of Trinidad and Tobago. The top three are unbeaten thus far in

the round-robin competition and have two points but are behind Barbados on sets lost.

Barbados have a 10-0 record from their two games thus far with Guyana posting a 7-3, same as Trinidad, but beating them out on points for and against with 317-249 as against 297-223.

They are set to play today against Bermuda at 13:00hrs Jamaica time, and then tomorrow morning against Barbados to decide the head of the table. (ssookram@guyanachronicle.com)

Tickets for WI/Bangladesh ODIs go on sale from Monday TICKETS for the two OneDay Internationals (ODIs) between West Indies and Bangladesh will go on sale from Monday at the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) office on 221-222 Regent Road, Bourda.

The games are scheduled for July 22 and 25 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara, where, for the first time ever, a day/night ODI match will be hosted on July 25.

According to a release from the GCB, ticket prices are as follows: Red Stand

$5 000, Green Stand $5 000, Orange Stand $3 000 and Grass Mound $2 000.

Children under 12 years are free with the purchase of an adult ticket.

Senior citizens, 60 years and over, are free with the presentation of National ID at the box office (while stocks last). Car passes cost a $1 000.

The last ODI is scheduled for Warner Park in St Kitts on

July 28.

Bangladesh last toured the Caribbean in August/September 2014, on an identical tour.

The hosts had swept the Tests and ODIs before the lone T20 was abandoned due to rain.

Bangladesh are currently ranked seventh by the ICC on the ODI charts, ahead of Sri Lanka and the West Indies.

International cricket was last played at Providence back in April 2017, when the Windies lost the three-match ODI series 2-1 to Pakistan.

Gayle mixed aggression with defence, reaching his second half-century of the tournament in the 16th over. In attempting to lift the tempo, Gayle held out to Springer at long-on, lashing four fours and three sixes from his 43-ball innings.

Cameos from Russell (29 not out from 16), Danza Hyatt (25 from 15) and 23 from Van Der Hussen ensured Vancouver Knights reached what seemed a winning score.

Rutherford, however, had other ideas as he tore the opposition bowlers apart.

The stocky built Rutherford had earlier grabbed two for 25 to crown a fine allround performance with his subtle medium pace bowling while Jeremiah Louis finished with two for 46.

Preliminary round winners Vancouver Knights will have another chance to qualify for Sunday’s final when they take on the winners of the second game which was being contested between Edmonton Royals and Winnipeg Hawks. The showdown is set for tomorrow from 15:00hrs.

The Guyanese duo of Sherfane Rutherford and skipper Anthony Bramble after yesterday’s game.

(Photo by Frederick Halley)

Malik in line for Amazon Warriors captaincy

By Rajiv Bisnauth DASHING Pakistani all-rounder Shoaib Malik is being tipped as the new Guyana Amazon Warriors captain amid reports that the owner of the local franchise is determined for a new management team for the sixth edition of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Highly-placed sources in the Warriors camp told Chronicle Sport that Malik has emerged as top candidate for the challenging job, based on his captaincy experience, having led Pakistan’s senior side and recently Multan Sultans, the Pakistan Super League T20 team.

The sources said the franchise also considered the option of last year’s captain Rayad Emrit for leading the team but his previous record as captain challenged his talent for the coveted position.

Malik had previously represented the Barbados Tridents in the last five editions of the tournament. He had a decent stint with the Tridents in the last five years, where he was as an important member of the playing unit both with the bat and the ball.

The Guyana Amazon Warriors one of the most consistent

franchises in the CPL are yet to win a title, despite reaching the final on three occasions.

Over the years, the franchise has been led by Ramnaresh Sarwan, Denesh Ramdin, Martin Guptill and Emrit.

suits all the demands from the role and understands the dynamics of T20 cricket really well.

Former South African all-rounder Johan Botha will take over as the head coach of Warriors for the upcom-

Shoaib Malik had earlier been a part of Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League.

However, with the local franchise considering a new management team, the owner made a new signing for the head coach of the team and his assistant.

After deliberating for quite a while the franchise pinned down on one name who best

ing season. His deputy is the local man - manager of the Guyana Jaguars and West Indies A, Rayon Griffith.

The Warriors will assemble in Guyana on August 2 for a preparatory camp ahead of the August 8 to September 16 tournament.

Brathwaite, Hetmyer give Windies opening day honours See 27 a P ge

Kraigg Brathwaite makes 110 off 279 deliveries. (AFP)

Left-hander Shimron Hetmyer goes on the attack during his entertaining half-century on the opening day of the second Test yesterday.

(Photo courtesy CWI Media)

GOA unveils largest CAC Games contingent ‌ 98 athletes, officials for Colombia See Page 27

Guyana all-rounder Keemo Paul made his

Test debut yesterday in the 2nd Test vs Bangladesh

at Sabina Park, Jamaica, and Windies fast-bowling legend, Sir Curtly Ambrose presented him with his cap.

GOA president Juman-Yassin (fourth from left sitting) flanked by officials and some athletes in Guyana’s CAC Games contingent.

Printed and Published by Guyana National Newspapers Limi ted, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Telephone 2 2 6- 3243-9 (General); Editorial: 2 2 7- 5204, 2 2 7- 5216. Fax:2 2 7- 5208

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018